A Quarian's Tale: Not Even Death
by Killerpossum
Summary: Shepard is gone. With nothing holding them together, the team disperses and go their separate ways. Devastated by the loss of Shepard, Tali tries to move on and find her place in the universe without him by her side. Little does she know that a reunion with her beloved Commander will come sooner than she thinks. Covers ME2, focusing on the romance between Tali and Shepard.
1. Chapter 1: Homecoming

**Hey everyone! This is the second part of a Quarian's Tale; if you haven't read the first one, I would recommend it before ploughing ahead with this story. However, it is certainly not necessary, it just might make things more cohesive. I'm excited to finally delve into Mass Effect 2, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Tali gazed at the Migrant Fleet as it grew larger and larger, her expression impassive. Not that her pilot would have been able to tell if it were otherwise, of course. The man glanced at her, but he had learned early on that she was not open to small talk after his first few attempts had been met with silence. She might have felt a little guilty if her heart could contain anything besides the hollow grief that had haunted it ever since… _it_ happened.

She swallowed back another sob before it escaped her throat; she had cried enough over the last few weeks to fill a lifetime. She knew there would be much more in the future, but she needed to remain composed for now. She was about to meet her father, after all, and any emotion like that was sure to be seen as weakness. It would be better to avoid anything to do with her relationship with a human in general; she didn't see that conversation going over very well for either of them.

This train of thought inevitably brought her back to Shepard. _Damn it._ She couldn't help her soft shakes as she succumbed to her sorrow, her vision blurring. Times like this were one of the main reasons she hadn't spoken to almost anyone after the attack, keeping herself muted to the outside world so she could mourn in peace.

It had only taken twelve hours for the escape pods to be rescued by a nearby Alliance vessel. She didn't remember much from that ship. At one point, someone had not so kindly asked her to stop crying; he had been promptly rendered unconscious by Ashley. "Anyone else have a problem?" she had asked, glaring ferociously around the cargo hold. Tali turned off her verbal output anyway, wanting to be left alone.

Over a week had passed before the Alliance gave up the search for Shepard and declared him killed in action. They never found his body. Tali couldn't bring herself to attend the funeral, knowing that he wasn't there, that he was abandoned somewhere on a desolate planet. After everything he gave to keep the galaxy alive, they couldn't even do him the courtesy of giving him a decent burial. The injustice of it only made the whole situation worse.

One good thing occurred while they were waiting for news about Shepard; Liara woke up. Tali put aside her feelings for an hour to go visit her friend. The asari had clearly already been given the news about the Normandy, and the horrified look she gave Tali when she walked in almost made the quarian turn around and leave. As it was, most of the conversation was spent with Liara feverishly discussing possibilities that the Commander was alive. Finally, Tali couldn't bear it anymore.

"He's dead, Liara. Just…stop." Tali immediately muted herself, as she could feel herself choking up again.

Liara seemed to understand and changed the topic, talking about anything but Shepard, but Tali wasn't listening. A few minutes later, she walked out with a muttered farewell.

Anderson dropped by her room after the memorial service, saying there was some business she had to take care of concerning Shepard. At least the new Councilor looked as bad as she felt, and a surge of appreciation for Anderson swept over her. He seemed to be one of the few people who was struggling with this as much as she was. She invited him in, and a few signed forms later, Tali found herself the inheritor of a sizeable amount of credits. She took in this information numbly, unable to muster a shred of care about money. Anderson arranged for a small ship to transport her back to the Migrant Fleet at her convenience. He didn't mention Shepard once, just put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly before taking off, looking as if he hadn't slept in years.

A voice came over the intercom, jerking her out of her reflection, and she cleared her throat in an attempt to make herself sound normal. "This is the Rayya. We have your ship flagged as Alliance; state your business with the Fleet."

"It's Tali, or, I mean, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, requesting permission to dock."

"Please verify."

The words came out automatically, like a mantra. "After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."

"Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali'Zorah."

"We'll need a quarantine team to meet us. The ship is not clean."

"Understood." The pilot dutifully followed the signals to the docking bay, relaxing once they were successfully attached. He stood up and turned around smartly.

"Will you need an escort, ma'am?"

"No, that's alright. You'd have to be in an enclosed suit anyway, and there wouldn't be any reason for it. Thank you." She took a few deep breaths. Her face itched where the tears were drying, but she ignored it as best she could.

He inclined his head. "Of course. Before you go, I just wanted to say that it was an honor bringing you here." Tali was confused for a minute before she remembered she was supposed to be some big hero now.

"Don't be silly. I know I've been awful company." She stepped into the airlock.

"I've had worse." The ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "So long, Miss Zorah."

"Goodbye, Cortez." She really, really hoped that had been his name. The door closed off the rest of the ship, and the docking bay opened up to reveal three more quarians. They had placed a barrier behind them, keeping the foreign particles inside the airlock. They started the scrubbing procedure, no one saying anything, but she could see the curious glances they gave her. _I suppose they've heard about the Citadel here, too. And apparently about me. Great._ She pretended not to notice, glad that no one was asking her questions. Five minutes later, the team finished and took down the barrier, allowing her to step onto her birth ship.

"Tali!" She saw a familiar woman waiting around the first corner, her slow and measured tones warm with delight.

"Auntie Raan!" Tali ran forward and embraced her. "It's so good…" Her voice cracked. _Stop it!_ "…so good to see you."

She could tell Raan knew something was wrong instantly, but Raan just hugged her back. "I am glad you are home safe, Tali. Your father is waiting for you." Raan led her deeper into the liveship, squeezing through hundreds of quarians as they walked. The Rayya was one of the biggest ships the Fleet had, but the halls were still extremely crowded. Personal space was not a luxury the quarians could afford.

Tali frowned. "How did Father know I was coming?"

"He may not seem like it sometimes, but he does care about you, Tali. He has his ways of getting information." The constant chattering ceased whenever they drew near and picked back up after they left; Tali could feel dozens of eyes tracking her wherever she went.

"What is wrong with everyone?" The stares were starting to grate on her nerves.

"The geth attack on the Citadel has been all anyone has talked about for weeks now. You stopped our greatest enemy from destroying the center of galactic civilization; of course they want to get a look at you."

"That's not what happened," Tali grumbled uncomfortably. She did not deserve this. She was the person who couldn't even save the one man who did deserve it.

"The stories may have been exaggerated through retelling. One of them has you riding a Thresher Maw through an entire geth base." Tali couldn't help snorting at that ridiculous image. "Regardless, you have become something of a legend. A symbol of hope." Raan stopped by the entrance to a small room and smiled at her. "I'm so proud of you."

Tali didn't reply, her face growing hot. If anything, Raan's words just made her feel worse. "He's in here?"

"Yes. You have your gift prepared, I assume? Is it that ship you came in?"

"Oh." Tali had almost forgotten about her Pilgrimage gift. It was the whole reason she had set out from the Fleet in the first place, but it just didn't seem important anymore. "No, it's not the ship. That was just for travel." Without further explanation, she entered the office.

Admiral Rael'Zorah sat behind a busy-looking yet organized desk, sifting through a mountain of reports. He barely looked up when Tali appeared before resuming his task. "Ah, Tali. Have a seat."

She obediently did as she was told, letting him find a stopping point in his work before saying anything. After five minutes of waiting, she became slightly irritated, but resisted the urge to disrupt his perfect little system. Finally, he set down the screen and looked up at her.

"I hear you made quite a stir on your Pilgrimage." This surprised Tali; she hadn't expected her journey to be mentioned at all. "I hope you didn't assume your exploits would be a sufficient replacement for a true gift." _There's the dad I know,_ she thought, bitterness squashing the small hope that had fluttered ever so briefly.

"No, Father." She pressed a few keys on her omnitool, transferring the data to Rael's. Thankfully, her gift remained undamaged after the fight with Saren, and it was a simple matter to link it with her new tool. Rael examined his forearm, his eyes flitting across the orange letters. After a few moments, he raised his head and met her gaze.

"How did you obtain this?"

"Making a stir on my Pilgrimage." She didn't feel like recounting tales, and what did it matter how she got it? "I assure you, it's legitimate. Taken directly from a geth source."

He ignored her sarcasm. "This is a worthy gift, Tali. I expected no less from my daughter. I will inform the captains of the data; I am sure they will be clambering to get you on their crew."

"There is no need for that. I have already decided on my ship, if the captain will have me." She noticed her intonation changing slightly, matching the formal cadence of her father. She hated when she did that.

"Indeed? What ship would that be?"

"I wish to serve on the Neema."

Rael paused. "That is a military vessel. I am not sure-"

"It is my decision. Please relay the captain's reply at your convenience." She stood, wishing to leave before she lost her temper. She was not in the best place to deal with Rael. "If there is nothing else?"

"I…" Rael sounded almost troubled as he hesitated, looking at his daughter. "No."

"Very well." And with that, she swept out of his office.

Captain Zaar'Telah was quite willing to accept Tali onto his ship. She glazed through the ceremony, her tolerance for socializing running thin by the end of it. She had envisioned receiving her full name so many times as a child, but she couldn't focus enough to care about it now. "Tali'Zorah, from this day forward, you shall be known as Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya. May you serve your ship with honor. Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai," she murmured back to her captain. She left in a hurry before she got entangled in conversation. A few familiar faces greeted her as she made her way to her new bunk, but she managed to escape any actual dialogs. _Almost there…_

"Tali!" The voice halted her as if she had run into a wall.

"Little Tali, let me get a look at you!" The woman bustled around her, taking in her appearance and the sad state of her suit. "You poor thing, we'll have to do something about that immediately."

"Hello, Mrs. Breizh."

"Now Tali, I told you just to call me Laera."

"Er, right."

Laera glanced around hopefully. "I don't suppose Keenah made it back with you? You must have been too busy fighting the geth to stay in touch," she said good-naturedly.

Tali felt a pang of dread. _She didn't know?_

"Did he say what he would be doing for his Pilgrimage before you split ways?" Laera looked at her expectantly. "Tali?"

Images came unbidden into her thoughts. She saw the assassin pierce her side with his plutonium-laced round. She saw Keenah collapse to the floor, blood pouring out of a hole that hadn't sealed properly. She saw the assassin's flesh melting from his body as she trapped him in the incinerator. She saw a human rushing in to save her from yet another trap, his eyes a piercing blue; her Shepard…

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Breizh. Keenah didn't make it."

The woman blinked a couple of times. "I don't understand; what do you mean?"

"I was with him when he died. We found evidence…it doesn't matter." She brushed passed Laera without looking at her. "I'm so sorry." Laera remained transfixed where she stood.

Tali found her bunk and through her stuff into a corner roughly. The room was so small that she couldn't stand up straight, but this was the same of almost all living quarters on the Fleet. The Neema was actually a step up from most other ships; even though she didn't have a family, she retained a whole room to herself. Strangely, now that she was finally alone, she simply sat there looking at the floor. She had expected to be a mess once she reached her bed, but instead a great emptiness engulfed her, numbing the pain to a dull ache.

Raan stopped by after about an hour of listless staring. She sat next to Tali and joined her in the quiet, occasionally humming a small tune to herself but otherwise leaving Tali alone.

"What's that?" Tali asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Raan unwrapped the bundle in her lap and gave it to Tali. She lifted it up and examined it; the new realk was much thicker than her current one. It also didn't have scorch marks, holes, or flyaway strings trailing from various points. _Maybe that's the reason everyone was looking at me._ The color was much more vibrantly purple, and the designs imprinted on it were a rather artistic representation of the Zorah clans mark. The clasps were positioned in different places from most realks, coming down the front and framing her neck instead of dropping down the back. It was gorgeous.

"I don't know what to say. Thank you; it is amazing."

"If I had known how badly your visor had been marked, I would have gotten you a new one of those instead," Raan said ruefully.

"Don't worry. I have a new one ready."

"Really?" Tali pulled out her box and carefully handed it over to Raan, who opened it and gasped. "Tali, this is incredible! The craftmanship is exquisite. This must have cost a fortune; how did you get it?"

"It was a present."

"Ah." Raan didn't press the subject, no doubt sensing this was part of Tali's reticence. Tali let out a wry laugh.

"You were right, you know."

"About what?"

"Warning me about the Pilgrimage. How it can make things seem romantic. You told me not to get overly attached to people I met, because I would have to leave eventually anyway." She put her head in her hands. "I messed that up pretty badly."

Raan put her arm around Tali, pulling her close and rubbing her back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She felt her eyes stinging again. "There was this human. He was the one that led the fight against Saren. I loved him. Now he's gone." She took a deep breath and controlled the anguish. "I'm going to book a clean room to change out of this visor. Thanks for coming by."

"Of course. I'll be here whenever you need me." She knew it was irrational, but Tali had half-expected Raan to tell her off for falling for a human. When she didn't, Tali had to quickly excuse herself to keep her tears at bay.

She spent the three hours until a clean room was available wandering around the ship, pointedly avoiding conversation with anyone else. She entered the facility and waited for the light above the door to turn green before unclasping her mask. There was a small mirror in the corner, but she felt no desire to look at her reflection and so avoided it. As she sealed the new one in place, she noticed how the world around her was several shades lighter than normal; that would take some getting used to. She stored her old, battered visor in the packaging that came with her new one. She knew she was supposed to hand over old materials to the maintenance crew for reuse, but she felt she deserved a keepsake from her adventures on the Normandy.

She carefully unwound her realk and donned Raan's present, taking much longer than normal to fit the cloth correctly around her body. The hood flared out around her shoulders and hooked together across her chest. Now that she was hidden away, she studied herself in the mirror, deciding she liked the personality the realk gave her suit.

She had heard the saying that time heals all wounds. It seemed to be a popular view across many different cultures. She would cling to that thought and press on, hoping that one day the ache in her chest would lessen to something more manageable. If her father was anything to go by, however, she doubted she would feel anything akin to peace for a very long time.

* * *

Liara's stomach turned as she looked down at the horrific sight inside the stasis pod. She had made deals with Cerberus, whose atrocities she had firsthand experience with, killed dozens of people, got the one friend she had made captured, and created possibly the most powerful enemy one could have besides the Reapers, all for this mangled heap of flesh. There was no way the corpse next to her had even a marginal chance of being alive.

She glared at the woman across from her. "You said he could be brought back, Lawson. You told me he was not dead yet."

Lawson crossed her arms and gave her a cool gaze. "I said that we could restore Shepard. I never implied that he might still have a pulse when we found him."

"How do we even know this is Shepard? The body is completely unidentifiable."

"The Collectors would not have been so keen to get their hands on this stasis pod if they weren't sure of who it was. That's definitely him."

Liara paced behind the body, her steps loud and angry. "That is not exactly comforting. Even a cursory examination could tell you this body in unrecoverable."

The Cerberus agent pursed her lips. "The trauma is certainly more extensive than anticipated. I cannot guarantee success, but I can promise that without me, Shepard's chances of breathing again are nonexistent."

"Maybe he should stay that way." Liara shook her head. "Trying to bring him back from this…I do not know that it should be attempted. It seems wrong." A painful prickle danced up her spine, a little reminder of her recent coma; her extensive biotic use over the past forty-eight hours had done her body no favors.

"Do you truly believe that? We both know the Reapers are real. Even in the month that he's been gone, the Council has already swept most of what he uncovered under the rug. We need Shepard. He's a bloody icon; people will listen to him."

What convinced Liara to leave Shepard with Cerberus wasn't Lawson's speech or any logical train of thought: it was guilt. When the Normandy went down and the Commander needed her most, where was she? Stuck in a hospital bed, uselessly slumbering while Shepard disintegrated into the atmosphere of an uncharted world. No matter how many times she told herself she probably wouldn't have made a difference, a small voice in the back of her mind always countered with _but what if?_ So she nodded at the agent and let her take him away, watching while they carted the pod onto a ship. She had done all she could for Shepard; it would have to be enough.

"Are you sure that was wise?" The deep tones made Liara jump so much her feet actually left the ground. She whirled around, ready to pulverize whoever had snuck up on her, when she saw a familiar visor covering a small, dark eye.

"Garrus? What are you doing here?"

"Who do you think saved your ass from that Blue Suns ambush?" he asked with a chuckle. "Nine shots, nine kills. I thought that would have given it away."

"I see." Liara glanced behind her as the Cerberus ship lifted off the dock and flew away from Omega. "You know what I have been doing, then?"

"I know enough." He sighed, leaning on his rifle. "Honestly, I don't see that ending well."

"Thank you for your opinion," Liara said stiffly. "It is too late in any case. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some other business to attend to."

"What business?" Garrus asked curiously as she strode around him.

"I have another friend who needs my help."

"Okay then. Are you going to tell Tali about this?" She paused, turning around to look Garrus in the eye.

"It would destroy her if it did not work. She cannot know. Better to have a happy surprise sometime in the future than to dangle hope in front of her only to snatch it away again."

"Somehow, I knew you were going to say something like that." Garrus shouldered his rifle. "I won't waste my time trying to change your mind. Like I said, I don't see that ending well, but this is your show. Good luck, Liara."

"You too." A dozen steps later she'd already forgotten about Garrus, entrenched in her plans to rescue Feron. If she was going to do this right, she would need a monumental amount of information to combat the Shadow Broker. What better place to start compiling her data than on Illium?

* * *

Tali ate her breakfast while she waited for the morning assignments to be handed out. The tightly packed tables crammed together had taken a while to get used to after her time away, but now she didn't even notice the constant jostling and elbow bumps. Despite her requests, the captain had not seen fit to let her join the marine division. She knew she didn't have the necessary training or qualifications for the unit, but she had hoped her experience in the field would be a sufficient substitution. Instead, she had spent the last few months doing maintenance and repairs for the dozens of problems that popped up daily for the Neema. She didn't mind the work; it kept her hands busy, and she was certainly good at it. After the excitement of the previous year, however, she soon grew bored of the endless tedium that had kept her happily occupied before her Pilgrimage.

Laera'Breizh was not content to simply hear that her son had died and leave it at that, which Tali understood completely. The Citadel had neglected to notify the Fleet of the discovery of Keenah's body, making it much more difficult for Laera to accept Tali's word. Finally, after recounting the story several times, Tali made an inquiry about the quarian and passed on the results, which confirmed Keenah's death, to Laera. They hadn't spoken since.

The person beside her, a marine by the name of Prazza, gesticulated wildly and almost hit her in the head, interrupting her thoughts. "Those geth bastards never stood a chance!"

"Watch it," she spat out angrily.

"Did you hear that? The famous Tali'Zorah has finally deigned to speak with us!" _Here we go._ Prazza got uncomfortably close, even for quarian standards, and leaned on his arm. "Please, tell us all about your extensive experience with the geth."

She pushed him back along the bench and remained silent, resolutely staring at the table. She knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her, maybe in an attempt to hear about the Battle of the Citadel, and she would not take the bait.

"I knew it was all bullshit," Prazza said with an air of superiority. "Probably some PR stunt for the Admirals. A Spectre, work with a quarian fresh on her Pilgrimage? She's probably never even seen a geth."

The ridiculousness of Prazza's conspiracy theory actually made her laugh. The feeling of genuine mirth was so foreign to her at this point; she had barely even cracked a smile for months. Once she started, it felt so good that she just couldn't stop. Eventually, her laugh devolved past the normal stages of sounds as she ran out of air, and she hunched over her seat clutching her sides as tiny squeaks emitted from her throat.

Prazza was taken aback, as was everyone else sitting near her. She knew how crazy she must look, which only made her laugh harder. Eventually, Prazza had enough and turned away with a disdainful sniff. "If you'd done half the things they say you did, they'd have let you come on at least one of the ground missions." That made her quiet down. She could perfectly imagine the smirk waiting just behind Prazza's mask. Seeing that he hit a nerve, he continued to goad her. "Come on, then. Tell me I'm wrong if I'm wrong. I bet this Spectre was made up too, just to give humanity a figurehead to rally behind. Notice how he conveniently disappeared after-"

It happened so quickly she didn't even realize what she'd done until Prazza was already pinned face down on the table. "Don't you dare mention him," she growled. "He's the only reason any of us are still alive."

Prazza vainly tried to escape her grip, shouting "Get off me!" She put more pressure on his wrist, putting an end to his struggling.

"You want to know what happened, right? Let me tell you, then. Yes, I have seen a geth. I've probably killed more geth than any quarian in living memory." She didn't know if that was true, but it sounded cool. "I've seen the resurrection of the rachni, diverted an asteroid from destroying an entire colony, and passed through a mass relay in a ground tank. That Spectre you think was made up? He was the fiercest warrior this galaxy has ever seen. Show some respect, or next time I'll break something." She drew a yelp from Prazza by squeezing his wrist a tad farther before releasing him. Tears had formed at the corner of her eyes, but they were caused by anger instead of sadness. The whole room had gone quiet, something she had never seen happen. She didn't care; venting her frustrations on Prazza, while maybe not fair to the marine, certainly made her feel better.

"Tali'Zorah?"

She turned around at her name and saw one of the marine commanders behind her. She thought his name was Kal, but she couldn't remember. _Well, there goes any chance of joining the marines._ "Yes?"

He handed her a screen. "Captain Telah has assigned you to head the science team on our next mission. The information you need should be contained here. We leave in a week." He inclined his head. "Ma'am." He strode away, not bothering to look at Prazza who was still nursing his wrist.

 _The science team. It's not the marines, but it's close enough._ She relished the thought of getting to see something new, of getting off the warm but suffocating atmosphere on the Fleet. She glanced at Prazza. "Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other. Don't the marines report to the science team on these missions?"

"Yes," he said through gritted teeth.

"Excellent." A message beeped on Tali's omnitool. She was shocked to see it was from her father. Come see me when you have a moment. We need to discuss your role on the ground team. I'll be on the Rayya. _Not on the Alarei again? Odd._

Nerves always gripped her whenever she needed to see her father, and the lengthy travel times between ships did not help settle them. By the time she stood in front of his door, she couldn't stop her hands from shaking as she pressed the button. Their last face to face conversation had not ended well; she was afraid he was going to override her captain's orders and force her to remain aboard the Neema.

When she walked in, he was surprisingly not behind his desk. The mound of datapads had only grown larger, but he ignored them, staring out the tiny window into the void. "Tali…how are you?"

 _What?_ "I'm, um, fine." _He never asks how I am._

"Good. Now, when you are on the ground, I need you to tag geth pieces that might be useful for pickup. It is very important that anything you tag be nonfunctional, do you understand? We cannot risk the chance that it might somehow rebuild itself while on the Fleet."

"Okay. I can do that, sure, but why? What are you working on?"

"I cannot tell you that, Tali. Just know that it is very important for our efforts against the geth."

She hadn't expected him to tell her, but it was worth a shot. "Very well. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

He seemed hesitant. "Raan has informed me that you might require a father instead of an admiral, as she put it. I do not…I am not very good at doing that." He put his hands on his desk and leaned against them, looking older and wearier than Tali had ever seen him. "I knew the human you served under died, and that you were on the ship when it went down. I did not know that you might have had feelings for this human. Perhaps more than was appropriate."

"I don't want to listen to this," she said, hearing the edge in his tone as he said those words. His callous summary of the most traumatic event in her life and apparent disapproval of her grief rubbed salt into her still-fresh wounds.

"Wait," he called out as she turned to leave. "That did not come out right. I am not here to judge or lecture; Raan warned me away from such tactics. I want you to know that everything I do, all of my work, is for you. I will not stop working until I have built you a house of the homeworld: I promise. I realize, however, that you may have more immediate concerns than that. I am here if you need me." He jerked up suddenly when her sniffles reached his ears. Then, he did something neither of them could have anticipated. For the first time in so many years, he put his arms around his daughter.

Of course, that made Tali go into a full-scale meltdown. She cried into his shoulder for what felt like hours. He stood there silently except to turn away a few people who tried to enter his office. He did not offer any words of encouragement, but his presence was enough. This was the first time Tali actually felt marginally better after crying since Shepard died. The horrible, bloody remains of her heart might finally start to heal; at the very least, her father had given it a chance to do so.


	2. Chapter 2: Traitors

**Hey everyone! I'm sorry I didn't get around to responding to any reviews, but I promise I read them and appreciate them very much! I'm starting a new job next week, and the transition is a little hectic, but this schedule shouldn't be interrupted. I wanted to briefly touch a few events that happened outside of the games with this chapter. I hope you like it! There'll probably be one more chapter in between this one and Freedom's Progress. Enjoy!**

* * *

Miranda Lawson was not a woman who understood the word failure. After examining the body, Wilson informed her that bringing Shepard back would be impossible. She refused to accept this and continued with the project, doing much of the grunt work herself and double-checking anything that she hadn't personally overseen. In Miranda's vocabulary, impossible meant 'particularly challenging'.

Shepard's bones were in so many pieces the x-ray looked like a jigsaw puzzle, and 89% of Shepard's epidermis had been burned away during his freefall through the atmosphere. Pieces of his ribs punctured many different parts of his vital organs, and a few of them were little more than a pulpy mass. None of this fazed Miranda: the only thing that mattered to her was the condition of Shepard's brain.

Miraculously, this portion of Shepard's body appeared to be the least damaged. His skull had only cracked, not shattered, and judging by the state of the legs, Shepard had impacted the planet feet first. The frigid environment, while doing its own fair share of damage to the corpse, kept the corpse extremely well-preserved for whomever had stuffed him into the stasis pod. There would be no way to make sure that Shepard was mentally comparable to what he had been before the accident until he woke up, _and he will wake up_ , but as far as their scans could tell it appeared to be intact.

A few months had passed since Dr. T'soni had assisted in Shepard's recovery. Progress was promising; even Wilson changed his initial conclusion in favor of a more optimistic outcome. He constantly complained that the procedure would require more credits than even the Illusive Man could provide, but without fail they received whatever they needed. Miranda didn't care about the cost of the project; she knew the Illusive Man wanted it completed, so she would deliver. She did notice Wilson's furtive looks whenever another credit request went through, as well as how he seemed to drag his feet when he thought she was looking. She made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

Thankfully, they hadn't needed to use any of the spare parts from the clone they had created from Shepard's DNA. The Illusive Man had been quite strict with his parameters for Shepard's resurrection; he wanted as much of the original man as they could provide. Cybernetics were involved extensively, and she had even gotten approval to outfit Shepard with an implant when they discovered he had untapped biotic potential. However, she had taken notice of his frown when she mentioned using pieces from the clone and understood; the clone was a last resort. Having safely progressed rather far into the project, Miranda had deemed the clone no longer useful and signed a termination order that morning.

She shifted in her seat, perusing through the detailed psych report they had obtained from the Spectre vault. At this point, Miranda probably knew more about the Commander than he did. Rasa had really pulled through on that mission; she just hoped the agent stopped trying to find out more about Project Lazarus than she needed to know.

Miranda snapped back into focus as alarms started to blare overhead. "Wilson, report," she said, immediately standing up and marching to the exit. She was as far as she could be from Shepard; if anything happened while she was gone…

"Shepard is fine. Whatever is causing that, it's not here."

She took this information in stride. "Seal that room. No one gets in or out: Shepard must be protected at all costs, do you understand?"

"Yes, Miranda," came the begrudging reply. Miranda tried to pull up surveillance of the facility, but someone had tampered with their cameras.

"Jacob, what's your status?"

"Miranda, it's Rasa. She's making a run for it with the clone."

"Rasa?" That made her pause. She knew Rasa had been chaffing to get back out in the field, but surely she knew it was for her own protection? She had been compromised, so field work was out of the question. "Have security meet me near the shuttles, and shut down all exits. We cannot let her escape."

"They're on their way, but we've been locked out of the system. I'm stuck in the control room because the damn door won't open."

"Roger that." She picked up the pace, jogging along the corridors until she converged with the group Jacob sent. Not long after, they caught a glimpse of Rasa disappearing around a corner, a LOKI mech shepherding Shepard's clone. "Jacob, we found her. Activate the mechs in sector 5 if possible."

"They're already online."

"What?" She turned just in time to see a YMIR mech launch a missile into the middle of her soldiers. She shielded herself from the shrapnel, but at least three of the others had been killed or incapacitated by the explosion. Mayhem ensued as mechs surrounded the group, steadily blasting away at the humans. Miranda didn't waste any time trying to fight off the robots. She forced an opening by smashing two LOKI mechs together and shooting the third's head off, sprinting to where Rasa had vanished. She felt no remorse leaving the others to fend for themselves; if they couldn't handle the mechs, then they were a liability, and their loss would not be a detriment to the project.

She saw Rasa shoving the clone's pod into a shuttle and took a few shots before something ran into her from the side and pinned her to the wall. Angry at the distraction, she made quick work of Rasa's pet LOKI mech, blowing it apart with her biotics. She emptied her gun into the shuttle, but Rasa had already gotten inside and started to take off. Miranda enveloped the vehicle in a biotic field in a last, desperate attempt to keep the renegade agent on the ground, but it proved too great a strain, and Rasa broke free.

"Jacob, send out an alert. Shuttle J26BC-4 is considered to be hostile, destroy on sight. Bring in our other law-enforcement contacts on this, C-Sec, the Alliance, hell even Aria T'Loak. Wherever she tries to run, I want someone waiting there to take her down. That bitch just signed her death warrant." She tried to open a second shuttle, but the lock refused to recognize her credentials. "How long will it take the technicians to purge her virus from our systems?"

"A few hours at least, Miranda."

She made a fist-sized dent in the door. "Damnit." She took a deep breath and composed herself. "Wilson, has anything happened with Shepard?"

"No, no change."

"Good." She hesitated for a split second before making her next call.

"Miss Lawson. What an unexpected surprise." There was a slight hiss of air on the other side of the call as the man puffed on a cigarette. "I hope you bring good news."

"The Lazarus Project is proceeding ahead of schedule, but there has been a complication. Rasa fled the facility."

"We knew she was a flight risk, but that shouldn't be too much of a concern."

"She took Shepard's clone with her."

The sigh on the other end made Miranda swallow involuntarily. "You disappoint me, Miss Lawson."

"I apologize. I promise-"

"I don't want promises. I want results. If I were you, I would pray this little incident did not come back to haunt us. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir."

"No more mistakes. Keep me updated on Shepard's progress. That will be all; I have other business to attend to."

The man ended the call and sipped his glass, absorbed in the myriad of screens before him. Rasa's defection was a problem, to be certain, but right now he needed to devote his full attention to a different scenario. If this next mission went awry, he would not only make a lifelong enemy of the quarian people but also setback Cerberus' biotic research by a decade. That could not be allowed to happen. What was the loss of one ship to the quarians? They had 50,000 more.

* * *

"I still don't understand why I have to be present," Tali said as she followed the captain of the Idenna. "I've never heard of this Kahlee Sanders. I won't be of any help in interrogating her, or whatever you are planning to do with her."

Ysin'Mal vas Idenna simply shrugged. "You may not know her, but I'll bet she has heard of you, Tali'Zorah vas Neema. The Conclave and the Admiralty Board did not get anywhere with her, but perhaps your presence might spark something. It's simply a hunch; if it doesn't work, then you may leave. I wanted to speak to the humans about something else in any case."

"What is her connection to everything that happened on the Citadel?"

"She is a synthetic intelligence expert, and she has history with Saren Arterius. They had hoped she could provide some insight as to Saren's influence over the geth."

Tali stopped walking, forcing Mal to turn around. "I thought I had been very clear as to why the geth were working with Saren. I distinctly remember being grilled for days about this very subject, and every time I told them that Saren had no power over the geth. It was all about the Reapers, about Sovereign."

"I know, but they were hoping additional input might aid in discovering exactly how Saren controlled this Reaper-"

"Saren didn't control anything," Tali said, her temper rising. "Saren's last act was to kill himself because Sovereign's influence was too strong. The Reapers are the key to everything, and even thinking of trying to use one is suicidal. You don't use a Reaper: it uses you."

"I understand, Tali," Mal said in a comforting tone. This put her off even more.

"Keelah. You think I'm crazy. The entire Conclave thinks I'm crazy."

"Not at all; would Captain Telah have placed you in such an important position if your sanity were in question?"

"Ah, so you simply don't believe me then. I suppose being an eyewitness to countless events proving my point doesn't make me a credible source? If Reapers are the Conclave's plan for retaking the homeworld, then they either consider me a lunatic or a liar."

Mal considered her for a moment. "Perhaps it would be best if I simply continued with the other meeting I had planned."

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just…frustrated."

"Of course. However, if you truly do not believe your presence will be of any assistance, then I apologize for having wasted your time. No hard feelings, I promise."

Tali grimaced, regretting her sullen words. "Very well, Captain Mal. I wish you luck in whatever you are hoping to accomplish."

He nodded at her and whisked around, heading for the interrogation rooms, while Tali retraced her path to the docking bay. She put her name into the queue for an inter-ship shuttle back to the Neema and waited, spending her time filling out some reports that needed to be finished. She overheard a conversation happening close by as two quarians chatted in front of one of the docking ports.

"Do you really think Golo had something to trade?"

"No way. Feda told me she was expecting trouble before she left; knowing my bondmate, Golo's probably dead by now. Worthless bosh'tet."

The port lock opened, and one of the speakers stepped forward in anticipation. "So, did he…wait-" The gunshot made Tali fall off of the crates she had been sitting on in surprise. Screams erupted as more shots came from inside the ship, and a mass of human soldiers poured out into the docking bay. Tali remained crouched down behind the crates, still stunned by what was happening. She didn't have a weapon besides her omnitool; it was discourteous to bring guns to another ship in the Fleet without reason. Luckily, the soldiers appeared to have an objective to complete, and they hurried deeper into the ship, only shooting people who got in their way.

A few bodies were left behind in their wake, and one of them happened to be security. Shaking off her stupor, Tali ran forward and snatched the guard's pistol, following the intruders trail. She patched herself into the Neema's emergency channels. "This is Tali'Zorah: the Idenna has been boarded, I repeat, the Idenna has been boarded!"

"What? Really?"

"Yes, really!" Tali said, exasperated. "Unknown assailants have entered the ship. They appear to be human."

"I-I'll inform…who should I inform? The captain or the admiral?" The voice sounded extremely confused and distressed, but it was interrupted by the gruff tones of Admiral Han'Gerrel.

"Go tell Telah, you blithering idiot. Tali, I heard what you said; I make a habit of keeping this channel open. I'll let the other admirals know what's going on, and we'll formulate an attack plan. Keep yourself safe, you hear?"

"Yes sir," she replied as she completely ignored his warning and sprinted after the soldiers. She fired a few rounds as she caught a glimpse of one turning a corner.

"Was that gunfire?"

"Got to go." She disconnected before he could give her a more specific order to steer clear of the combat.

As she rounded the bend, she realized they were near the interrogation rooms. That couldn't be a coincidence. She ducked into the overhang of a side passage as the rear soldiers stopped and faced her, their bullets sending sparks cascading down the hall. She focused on her omnitool as they kept her pinned down. _Okay, time to see if this works…_

Several weeks of hard labor materialized into existence in front of her, a glowing sphere of orange light. _Orange? I'll have to mess with the color later._ Excited with her success, she commanded the drone to attack the soldiers. It did not move, peacefully whirring next to her leg. "Come on, Chatika. Maybe…just try moving, at least?" The drone was more than happy to buzz around, but it went in the opposite direction that she indicated and hovered in front of a closed door. Rolling her eyes, Tali typed in the reverse of what she wished, and Chatika zoomed out into the hall and started running in frantic circles around the soldiers. It couldn't attack, but it was more than enough of a distraction for Tali to disable their shields and dispatch of them without much resistance. The drone came back to its default position by her side. "I guess you technically did your job. I need to work out the kinks, that's for sure." She dismissed the drone and started after the invaders once more.

Tali happened upon what looked like the last dregs of an intense battle. Quarian and human corpses were strewn about, and there were several people-sized dents in the walls and ceiling. There was some sort of standoff between two humans and a quarian; the man had his gun trained on the woman, while the quarian stood a little off to the side. The human apparently made up his mind, switching targets and blasting a hole through the quarian's head.

Incensed, Tali overloaded his weapon and had shot him through the shoulder before the woman stepped in the way, waving her hands. "Wait wait wait! We're not the enemy!"

Tali studied her suspiciously, but Captain Mal showed up at that exact moment and rushed over to the woman. "Are you alright, Sanders?"

"I'm fine." Tali realized this must be the woman who had a connection to Saren somehow and, despite the battle that had just ended, found herself curious. The man she had shot shifted from the floor onto his knees, breaking Tali's train of thought before a question could form, and Tali aimed her gun at him.

"This man shot one of us in the head, Captain."

"He wasn't one of yours," the human said. "He was one of mine. Golo."

"The traitor?" Tali eyes widened with comprehension. "He's how you got onto the Fleet."

"Yes, but that doesn't matter now. Listen; the ship we arrived on, the Cyniad, it's rigged to explode. The blast will destroy the Idenna entirely."

"What? Why?" Tali stomped towards the man, struggling very hard against her instinct to murder him. "Why would you do that?"

"You can still stop it, but you will need to hurry," he said, refusing to meet her stare.

With a quick nod at the Captain, Tali left Mal with the two humans and sprinted back to the docks. The human hadn't given a specific timer for the bomb, but his rushed words couldn't have been a good sign. She returned to the correct area and found it nearly deserted as the noncombatants had fled the scene. She rushed onto the offending ship and located the explosive devices, connecting to the panel and running a search for matching bomb schematics. She waited anxiously for the results to come back, flinching at the slightest of noises; unlike in the vids, there wasn't a giant countdown timer keeping track of the explosives.

With a loud beep that almost made her heart stop, the results from the search spat out what she was looking for. She feverishly skimmed through the document, tracing each of the wires with her finger. _According to this, I should cut the two green wires. I think._ She slowed down and carefully followed the wires' trails, ensuring the connections were where she thought they were. She needed to be quick, but a mistake now would be just as bad as taking too long.

She pulled the knife from her boot and pried open the metal encasing the mess of circuits and wires. Holding her breath, she grabbed the two green wires and sliced through them before she could second-guess herself. The light faded from the ARMED button, and after several seconds of listening to her own pounding heart in her eardrums, Tali figured she must have done the right thing and slowly exhaled.

Tali was stuck answering questions for security for hours after the excitement died down. As it turned out, the group that attacked them was a privately funded pro-human organization called Cerberus. Upon hearing the name, Tali mentioned that she had had a brief encounter involving Cerberus during her Pilgrimage and immediately regretted it as it took another hour and a half to explain that minute connection before the guards let her go.

Cerberus' target, a biotically gifted girl, was permitted to stay with the Idenna for her protection until she had grown up. This surprised Tali; the girl must have made a strong impression on Captain Mal for him to allow a human to live with the Fleet for such a length of time. Thinking about the logistical nightmare of such an arrangement made Tali's head hurt.

Mal gave Tali an official commendation on her file, stating her bravery and quick-thinking during the crisis helped save the Idenna from certain destruction. She tried to turn it down, saying that she was barely a part of repelling Cerberus and that defusing the bomb was more luck than anything, but Mal wouldn't have it. After a prolonged discussion on the matter, he finally said "Just take the damn complement" and walked off.

Six of the fourteen injured quarians succumbed to their wounds, boosting the death toll to twenty-five not including the original crew of the Cyniad. This blatant attack on the Migrant Fleet brought several changes to the governing bodies' policies. They decided they had been too complacent in their search for a place to live or a method to defeat the geth and became much more proactive, taking the advice from captains like Mal and sending out search teams to explore new planets. With this increase in ground activity and accelerated interest in the geth, Tali suddenly had a never-ending supply of missions to partake. The events surrounding Saren had made Tali something of an expert on the geth, especially concerning the more practical aspects of how they perform in battle and how best to kill them. As such, many of her missions took her into geth space, which provided plenty of opportunity to return salvage for her father.

The first such foray was an interesting experience. The planet in question had been chosen specifically because of the minimal geth presence; the goal was to get in, attempt to extract information from a couple of the units stationed there, and get out. The strike went off without a hitch, but the marines' reticence when faced with the geth left Tali a little flabbergasted. They spent ten minutes arguing over the best approach. Tali had assumed that a sizeable force would be waiting for them just over the hill, or maybe even one of the almost legendary geth prime units, but after checking her scans she realized there were simply two normal geth troopers. To Kal'Reegar's credit, his initial suggestion had been sound and formulated without hesitation, but every time he finished allaying one of the marines' concerns someone else would pose another question. Finally, Tali couldn't take it anymore. "Reegar, come on."

"Ma'am, I don't think it's wise for you to take a frontline stance on this," Reegar said as he followed Tali up the hill. The rest of the marines seemed unsure if they were supposed to wait or come along. "Your job is to retrieve the data; if you die, no one else here knows how to extract what we need from the geth."

"Your concern is noted. Now, you take the right, I'll take the left. Ready?"

"Yes ma'am." Tali knew Reegar could override her on matters of security like this, but she was pleasantly surprised when he went along without further complaint.

It was over before the geth knew what hit them. Unfortunately, the core flashed before Tali could extract anything, but that was more likely to happen than not. It was a miracle she had retrieved the data about Saren: nine times out of ten this operation was a bust, and that was if you knew what you were doing.

Time passed in great leaps during this period. When she had a mission to plan, which was often, she was so distracted that it felt like days passed in the blink of an eye. The lulls in between action were the worst. She was doing as well as could be expected, but these were the moments when she missed Shepard the most. She didn't eat much whenever this happened and would more times than not end up staring aimlessly at the ceiling of her bunk as she tried to crawl out of the yawning chasm of emptiness that threatened to swallow her whole.

One day, she and Reegar met with the Admirals to discuss matters that couldn't be disclosed on unsecured channels. Their next task would be to travel to Haestrom and collect readings on the star in the system. It was ageing too quickly, and the Admirals were worried enough to risk sending a team to investigate. This research mission would take Tali deeper than she'd ever been in geth space. This wasn't a simple little outpost near the edge of the Veil; spy drones indicated this system was heavily patrolled by geth. The full details of the plan would take months to work out between herself and Reegar, so they were free to participate in other jobs until they were ready to leave. She and Reegar decided that he would be in charge of selecting a team, charting a path to Haestrom, and preparing for contingency plans should things go south, while Tali focused on collecting information about the system itself and preparing any instruments they might need.

She was so distracted by this new objective that she almost missed the ship for Freedom's Progress; she'd forgotten she'd been assigned to the retrieval team by Captain Telah a few days ago. She rushed through the airlock with five minutes to spare and felt her stomach turn unpleasantly as her eyes rested on Prazza.

"What are you doing here? Where's Reegar?"

"I'm leading the strike today. Reegar had other business to take care of."

Tali sat down across from Prazza and looked at him coldly. "I'M leading the RETRIEVAL mission. You report to me on this, Prazza. Veetor activated an emergency distress signal, but that does not mean we land on a human colony guns blazing."

"Fine." The word clearly took Prazza a lot of effort to say.

"Good. Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3: Rude Awakening

**Hey guys! Well, it's time to bring Shepard back into the story. I know it's only been two chapters, but I miss him already. I think someone's going to be happier about his return than I am, however. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you sure this line is secure?" Wilson glanced around the little supply closet he was in furtively, as if checking to see if someone was hiding behind the mops.

"It's secure," the voice said shortly. Wilson couldn't make out any identifiable characteristics through the heavy distortion, and the deep bass held a certain amount of menace as it spoke. "Our objective has changed. Shepard cannot be revived. Eliminate him."

"I can't do that! I'm already risking great deal feeding you progress updates."

"For which you have been well-compensated. You will receive double what you've made so far: half now, half when the job is done."

Wilson licked his lips. That was a lot of money. "How am I supposed to make this look like an accident? It's no use getting paid if I die before I can spend it."

"That is your concern, not mine. The first part of our transaction has been wired to your account. Contact me when it's done." The connection cut out.

Wilson remained hunched over his omnitool and considered his options. If he simply tweaked the dosage in Shepard's IV's during his shift tonight, Shepard would wake up. In his current, fragile state, the shock should be enough to undo all of their hard work and irreparably damage his brain. Wilson would be long gone before Miranda could find out the project had been sabotaged, hiding on an exotic beach happily spending the Shadow Broker's money.

There was always the possibility that Miranda would check in before Shepard could expire. If that happened, he would have to resort to plan B. The Shadow Broker had provided Wilson with security mech clearance; that should be enough to shut the facility down. The problem would be accessing the control center alone, which is what made plan A the safer choice.

* * *

Someone was screaming. The sound didn't come through his ears but reverberated inside his thoughts, a constant companion during the fragmented dreams. Visions of fire flared across his mind, but the fire was cold to the touch. It seeped into his body, filling his lungs with freezing air until suddenly the air was gone and he was suffocating, straining to suck in one more gulp of oxygen…

Someone was screaming, and he realized that someone was him.

Then, something changed. The darkness that framed the disturbing scenes in his mind faded to a dull grey. Muted voices filled the background, cutting through his grogginess until he discovered he could open his eyes.

He had no idea where he was or what was going on. People were shouting at each other, and a woman bent close and spoke directly to him. "Shepard, I'm going to need you to remain calm."

Shepard. That was his name. _I'm Shepard._ Strange memories clouded his thoughts, giving a sense of reality to the nightmarish hell he had just escaped. _Did I…die?_ _That can't be right. Tali…where is Tali?_

He tried to move an arm and agony exploded behind his eyes. _What is wrong with me?_ Panic set in as every feeble motion was accompanied by excruciating pain. The woman was yelling at someone named Wilson to administer a sedative, but the feeling of a thousand knives peeling his skin from his body pushed away any comprehension.

Warmth spread up his arm, replacing the sharp anguish with a light tickling. _What was I doing?_ He couldn't remember. His last thought as he fell back asleep was of a pair of glowing eyes that he needed to see for some reason.

* * *

"Shepard! Shepard, wake up!"

Shepard was jostled from his sleep by a tremor that almost threw him off of the table. His jaw felt incredibly sore, and as he placed a hand on it to rub, he brushed against a streak of metal where part of his skin should have been.

"You're awake, good. There should be a pistol in an emergency locker nearby. I'll unlock it for you." The Australian accent sounded familiar, but Shepard was too bewildered to take much notice.

"Whazgoinon?" Shepard's jaw didn't work right as he tried to speak, slurring his words. He rubbed his jaw and opened his mouth several times as he brought life back into those muscles.

"This facility is under attack. There are hostile mechs incoming to your position." Gunfire and actual fire roared on the other side of the window next to his bed, punctuating her words. Several bullets hit the glass, but the impacts left small, circular cracks instead of destroying the thing entirely.

He looked around, taking in the hospital equipment and the charts and x-rays hung all over the walls, but he couldn't find the source of the voice. "Where am I?" _At least my speech sounds better._ Another tremor rocked the building, and the lights flickered ominously for a few seconds. "What the actual FUCK is going on?"

"Just get the gun, Shepard. I'll explain everything in person." That's when he found the intercom speaker directly above his head.

Figuring there wasn't a reason to resist arming himself, whatever the situation, he went and collected the pistol. It was unlike any pistol he had handled before, and it looked like there was a place to insert…ammo? "What is this?"

"A gun, Shepard." The woman had a tinge exasperation in her voice.

"I know that, but what's wrong with it?"

"What do you – oh, that's right. It uses thermal clips to keep the heat in check. No more cooldown periods, but it does require a pack of clips."

Shepard stared at the weapon. "How is that better? When did this become a thing? What-"

"The door is open, Shepard. It looks like there are some clips in the next room. Hurry, the mechs will be there soon." As he turned to leave, he almost fell as he tripped on his overly large hospital gown. _There is no way I'll make it fighting in this thing._ He searched for an alternative, but all he found was a doctor's coat hanging on the back of a chair. Sighing, he traded his giant trash-bag material robe for a much too small cloth coat that only came down to his mid-thighs. He cinched it as tightly as he could, but it was still too breezy in places that should be secured and wind-free.

Uncomfortable and feeling like a second-rate hooker, he shuffled into the adjacent room and found a body on the floor, a couple of thermal clips scattered around the corpse. He picked up the clips and studied them, but before he could figure it out, another door slid open to reveal a LOKI mech. The mech clearly knew how to use the new form of weaponry and started firing immediately. Stranded in the middle of the room with no shields, no cover, and an unloaded gun, Shepard cried out and instinctively covered his head with his arms.

He felt a surge of energy travel from the tips of his fingers, and a strange weakness came over his muscles. Confused by his lack of bullet holes, he peered around his hands. The mech had been shorn in half, the upper part of its torso still suspended in midair by a purple field.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" His voice cracked from his surprise and lack of use. "How…what…" He waved his arms in front of him again, trying to do what he did before, but nothing happened.

"Keep moving. The notched end of the clip faces the back of the gun. Expel spent clips when you see steam coming out of the firing chamber."

"Did you drill into my head and put a chip in my brain?" Shepard's hands mechanically loaded the gun while he talked.

"Not exactly."

"Well, I wasn't a space wizard before I woke up!" Shepard halted suddenly. The Normandy, the crash, the crushing pressure on his chest, it all came back. "Hang on…did I die?"

Unintelligible static responded. "Hello?" He heard a beep on his arm and was surprised to find an omnitool attached. Someone had sent him a map to follow with a flashing point on a section labeled Evac Shuttles. With no other options, Shepard set off down the path laid out for him. He made a quick stop at a place labeled Exercise Room, grabbing a pair of sweatpants from a dilapidated locker and pulling them on before continuing his escape in slightly more comfort.

Everything hurt, but he found a surprising amount of strength in his limbs. He briefly touched some of the metal on his face and wondered what other things had been done to his body. He could fully extend and contract his left arm, something that hadn't been possible after the battle with Saren. _I didn't get the chance to ask about my crew._ Worry spiked as he imagined Tali's body floating lifelessly through space, and he quickened his pace.

He entered a large courtyard type area and saw a man engaged in a firefight with some mechs across a large drop. Shepard hurried forward and placed three rounds in a chest plate before ducking down next to the stranger. His aim felt different, more fluid than he was used to.

The man looked extremely surprised to see him and recognized him instantly. "Shepard? If Miranda's got you running around, things must be worse than I thought."

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"My name's Jacob Taylor. Tell you what," he said as a bullet ricocheted off the bench behind them, "let's take care of these mechs first, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"I'll hold you to that." Shepard got to work cleaning up the enemy. They were predictable and easy to distract, and a two-person team had no trouble eliminating them. Jacob threw in a couple of biotic attacks, drawing Shepard's curiosity; he'd have to ask about his own new-found powers.

"Thanks for the backup," Jacob said, standing and rotating his shoulder. "You can really hold your own, especially for someone who hasn't so much as walked the last two years. Nice outfit, by the way."

Jacob's words hit Shepard like a punch to the gut. "I've…I've been asleep for two years?"

"Oh yeah, forgot all of this was still new to you, sorry about that. Asleep is a pleasant euphemism, but the truth is, when they brought you in, you were as dead as a person could be. I'd have called you a lost cause; no way someone could come back from that pile of meat and tubes. But Miranda insisted. Shows what I know."

"So I WAS dead." Shepard had to lean against the bench for support. "Two years…that doesn't seem possible. It feels like at most a few days since the crash." That jolted him back up. "What about the others? Did they make it off the ship?"

Jacob nodded. "Yeah, almost everyone survived the crash. A dozen or more servicemen didn't make it off the lower levels and Navigator Pressly was killed, but all of your ground team made it out."

"So Tali's okay?" Relief spread through Shepard for a brief moment before dread reared its ugly head again. _She thinks I'm dead. She thinks I died two years ago._ He knew he wouldn't have handled her death well at all, so he could only imagine what life had been like for her. He wasn't sure if he was more afraid of her being fine and having moved on with someone new or being a shell of her former self. He felt ashamed that he would almost rather her have lived in sorrow for so long than have found peace in the arms of another, but he couldn't help the shard of fear that pierced his heart when he considered the possibility that she might not feel the same way about him anymore. "What's she doing now?" he asked, feigning mild interest.

"She's back with the Migrant Fleet. That's all I really know, sorry."

Shepard hadn't expected much, but he was still disappointed with the lack of detail. He gestured at the cracks in his visage. "Who did this? Who brought me back? The Alliance?"

Jacob looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, but it's really not my place to say. Miranda insisted that everything be revealed according to protocol. Technically, I shouldn't have said anything, but I figured you deserved to have a few questions answered."

The secrecy surrounding Jacob's employer prickled Shepard the wrong way, but that was a matter to worry about later. "A woman was speaking to me over the intercom; was that Miranda?"

"Had to be. Someone tampered with our security mechs, drove them to attack us instead. Her first priority would be getting you to safety."

"Why?"

"You're the reason this base exists, Shepard. She wouldn't let anything harm the project that took the last two years to finish."

Shepard shook his head. _Why would anyone pour this amount of resources into one man?_ "How did someone get through all of your security to override the mechs?"

Jacob clenched his fists. "It had to have been an inside job. Someone with top level security clearance."

Shepard eyed him warily. "What do you do here, anyway?"

"I'm in charge of security…" Jacob trailed off as he saw Shepard's apprehensive stare.

"So, I take it that means you have top level security clearance?"

Jacob folded his arms. "Those mechs were shooting at both of us. You think if I had hacked them I would have told them not to attack me, or at the very least I would have used our battle as an opportunity to finish you off real quick. You don't have any shields or armor, so one or two shots would have done the trick."

Shepard considered his argument. "You make some good points, but if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer if you walked ahead of me."

Jacob shrugged. "Fair enough. We can continue this conversation-" He was interrupted by the radio on his shoulder.

"Hello? Is there anyone on this frequency? Is anyone still alive? Hello?"

"Wilson?" Jacob asked. The name struck a chord in Shepard's memory, but he couldn't quite place it. "This is Jacob. I'm with Commander Shepard. We just cleaned up a bunch of mechs in the main courtyard in D Wing."

"Shepard's ALIVE? How did – never mind. You can use the service tunnels to get over to the network control room. That's where I am."

"Roger that, Wilson. Stay on this frequency."

Shepard waited until Jacob stopped pressing the button to voice his concerns. "Can we trust this Wilson?"

"He was the chief medical tech, and he answers directly to Miranda. It doesn't seem very likely that he would be the traitor."

Shepard chewed his lip, put off at the slight taste of metal in his skin. "I get the feeling that whoever the traitor is won't be expected. I know you know these people and I don't, but just be careful."

"Does that mean you trust me?"

"At the very least, I trust you more than some voice on a radio. Like you said, you could have killed me already. But I'm not taking any chances; I'm not planning on dying again today."

Jacob nodded and led the way to the service tunnels. Shepard almost didn't notice the hidden mech until it was too late, whipping around at the last second and punching his bare hand through the things metal face before it could take aim, ripping out some wires and circuits. Jacob pinned the two others that popped up from behind pipes to the wall, allowing Shepard to shoot them with ease. His fist hurt from his punch, and he looked at it curiously. He knew he just punched a robot, so pain should be expected, but he hadn't hurt this much from a punch in a long time. His investigation revealed a shocking surprise; aside from the blood and minor cuts he got from punching the mech, his skin was as smooth and unscarred as it had been when he was a kid. His callouses, the marks that defined everything he had survived…they were gone. He reached up to his scalp and felt for the line in his head. He didn't know if he was happy or disappointed that his reminder of Akuze remained a part of him, but it did ground him from spiraling into a full-blown panic attack.

"Try to do better next time, Wilson. You led us into a damn ambush." Shepard raised an eyebrow at Jacob when the security chief said this, but Jacob simply made a noncommittal noise.

"The whole station is a giant ambush, the mechs are everywhere! I'm doing the best I can!" Wilson's tone changed from strained annoyance to terror. "Oh God…they found me!"

"We're on our way!" Jacob said, sprinting for the exit.

"I'm in server room B! Hurry!"

As they ran, Shepard's coat came undone and flapped behind him like a ridiculous cape. To Jacob's credit, he didn't say anything about the sight, but Shepard could see him trying to hide a smirk.

"Aahhh!" Wilson screamed into the radio. "I'm hit! They shot me!"

They burst into the room with their guns drawn, but all they found were a couple of human bodies and Wilson lying on the floor, a pool of blood slowly forming under his leg. "Over here!" he called out unnecessarily. "Bastards got me in the leg."

"Where are they?" Shepard asked, scanning the room for any sign of hostiles.

"Someone drew them off. I didn't see who it was, but they left me and chased after someone through there." Gunshots emanated from the door he indicated, but to be fair, gunshots were emanating from basically everywhere. Jacob knelt next to Wilson and applied some medigel to the doctor's leg.

"Thanks," Wilson said, slowly getting to his feet and using the railing behind him for support. "I thought I could maybe stop this mess, but whoever did this completely fried the systems."

"We didn't ask what you were doing here," Jacob said, crossing his arms. "Why do you even have security clearance?" Shepard rolled his eyes. _I told him this guy was suspicious._

"Weren't you listening? I came here to try and fix this! Besides, I was shot! How do you explain that?" Wilson sounded extremely defensive to Shepard, but at that moment, another pack of mechs came through the far door.

"How about we get out of here and then play the who tried to kill me game," Shepard said as he ducked behind some crates. A stray bullet broke the shelves he was crouching next to, sending a pile of shield generators spilling onto the floor next to him. _Convenient._ He picked one up and turned it on, immediately feeling better about his chances for survival.

Wilson sent an electrical charge into the fuel barrels stacked near the mechs, blowing them to smithereens. Jacob lowered his pistol and looked between Wilson and Shepard. "Things are getting pretty tense. If I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?"

"You know we're not supposed to, Jacob."

"We won't make it if he's expecting a shot in the back," Jacob fired back. Shepard wasn't sure how telling him who his employer was would kindle enough trust to not expect betrayal from these two people he just met, but he went along with it because he was curious.

"Sure. Who do you work for?"

"The Lazarus Project…it's funded and controlled by Cerberus."

Shepard remained frozen for a moment before he fully processed what Jacob said. A blind rage consumed him, and he backed away from the other two quickly with his gun pointed at Jacob. He never found out if he was going to start shooting, however, as he got suspended in midair. He struggled against his new-found weightlessness, angrily trying to regain his bearings. "Put me down! NOW!"

Jacob scratched his head. "I'm not doing that Shepard. I think you are. All we can do is wait for your singularity to wear off; if I try to biotic you down, it'll likely explode."

 _Damn biotics._ Shepard knew he looked hilariously insane floating upside down with his arms crossed, but right then he was focused on the two men who belonged to the organization that had tried to kill him so many years ago. "Do you really expect me to trust you now, after everything that happened with Akuze?"

"Akuze?" Jacob looked confused. "What do you mean? That was a thresher maw attack, right?"

"Pretend all you want. I know Cerberus was behind that massacre. They tortured the only other survivor from Akuze for years, all in the name of discovering some shit about threshers."

Jacob looked genuinely shaken. "I…I didn't know about that. I knew Cerberus had a checkered past but…" His resolve seemed to harden. "It doesn't matter what Cerberus has done before. There is a bigger threat now, one that threatens all of humanity, and only Cerberus is doing anything about it."

Shepard's singularity finally ran out at that moment, and he flopped unceremoniously onto the floor. "I don't care what's happening, that doesn't excuse what they've done," he said as he picked himself up. He kept his gun pointed away from them despite his misgivings; with his emotions more in check, he didn't want to antagonize the people he would likely need to get out of this mess.

"I know. Once we're off this facility, I'll be taking you to see the Illusive Man, and he can explain everything. He spent a lot of money bringing you back; I'm sure he'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have." Jacob held out a hesitant hand. "Can we at least have a truce until then?"

Shepard reluctantly took it. "Fine. But he better have some damn good answers. I'm only going along with this because I don't really have any other choice at this point, just so we're clear."

"Good enough. We should try to find Miranda on the way out."

"Are you crazy? She was over in D Wing; that place was overrun."

"We made it out of D Wing. I know Miranda; she's alive!"

"Shepard is our primary objective. Miranda would kill us if we put him in any danger just to try and reach her, and you know it." Wilson didn't wait for Jacob to agree, knowing his logic was sound. "Come on, we need to get out of here."

Shepard wasn't paying as close of attention as he should have been during the rest of the escape. It probably would have been better if Jacob hadn't mentioned the whole Cerberus aspect; Shepard was nowhere near as sharp as he usually was. Still, they managed to avoid any of the big suckers, and the LOKI mechs were easy to take out with a team. Wilson trotted over to the final door between them and safety, punching in some numbers into a keypad.

"Just through here. We're almost…" He stopped talking as the door slid open to reveal a woman waiting for them on the other side. "Miranda? But you were-" A bullet carved a path through Wilson's face, exiting the back of his skull and spraying them with brain, blood, and bits of bone.

"Dead?" Miranda finished for him, her mouth twisted into a smug smile. Shepard raised his gun at Miranda, waiting for her to attack, but she ignored the weapon and stepped forward, offering her hand. "Miranda Lawson. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Commander Shepard."

"What the hell are you doing?" Jacob jogged over to Wilson's body, not even bothering to check for vital signs after seeing the splattered mess that used to be his head.

"Wilson betrayed us all. He killed hundreds of our people with this attack. He would have killed us if he left with us." She hadn't stopped looking at Shepard, and her hand was still raised. He slowly put his gun down, but he didn't shake her hand.

"How can you be sure?" Shepard asked.

"Seriously, Miranda. We've known Wilson for years; what if you're wrong?"

Miranda dropped her arm and clasped her hands behind her back, smirking at Jacob. Shepard couldn't help noticing the skin-tight uniform she was wearing. _How is that practical at all?_ "I'm never wrong. I thought you would have learned that by now, Jacob."

Shepard shook his head. "I thought Wilson seemed fishy, but…whatever." The room shook as yet another explosion rocked the facility. "We need to get out of here."

"Agreed. The shuttle is just through here. My boss wants to speak with you."

"You mean the Illusive Man?" Shepard chuckled. "Catchy name. Did he come up with that himself?"

"Ah, Jacob," Miranda said, giving him a long-suffering look. "I should have known your conscience would get the better of you."

"Lying to him isn't the way to get him to trust us, Miranda. Although I didn't know about his history with Cerberus." Jacob shrugged. He seemed to shrug a lot, Shepard noted. "Either way, we can continue this once we are safe."

"No arguments here," Shepard said, stepping onto the shuttle. Jacob took the pilot's seat, leaving Shepard with the tight-lipped Miranda. She didn't tell him anything he didn't already know or had surmised on his own, simply saying that the Illusive Man would explain everything in a few short minutes. He answered her impromptu psych evaluation, apparently satisfying her requirements for proper mental functions by being able to recall a few traumatic events in his life. He thought she was probably just trying to make him squirm, but he didn't care. He just wanted answers, and apparently only the Illusive Man was going to give them to him.

When they got to the other Cerberus facility, he stopped just long enough to put on normal clothes before heading directly to the meeting room. He looked around, but the room was completely empty when he stepped in. Thinking it might be a trap, he reached for the gun he had insisted on keeping with him, but then the lights dimmed and he saw a hologram forming around him. Soon, he found himself in an almost pitch-black room. It looked like the floor was the only architecture the chamber afforded, as the rest appeared open to pure space. A raging sun made for a pretty backdrop, the color swirling between orange and blue in a mesmerizing pattern. A man sat between him and this spectacle, sipping a glass of amber liquid and surrounded by dozens of glowing screens. His eyes glowed unnaturally blue from the obvious cybernetic implants. Shepard wondered if his own eyes looked like that; he hadn't seen a mirror yet.

"Commander Shepard." The Illusive Man's voice was soft, and it sounded as if speaking was a particularly unsatisfying chore for the guy.

"Illusive Man." It sounded stupid coming out of his mouth, but he didn't know what else to call him. "Why did you bring me back?"

"Straight to the point, then." A puff of cigarette smoke left his lungs as he spoke. "Humanity is facing the greatest threat of our brief existence."

"The Reapers," Shepard said, a cold wave of fear coming over him. "What have they done? What's happened while I've been gone? Did they find a way through the relay?"

"Not yet. But we both know it's only a matter of time before they work around that little setback." The Illusive Man swirled the drink in his hand, the ice clinking softly as he did so.

"Then what?"

A small smile flickered across the Illusive Man's face. "I see your stellar diplomacy skills have remained intact."

Shepard almost said 'I don't negotiate with terrorists,' but realized how stupid that sounded before he got it out. "I don't trust you. Frankly, I would tear your entire organization to the ground without a second thought for what you did. But you know that, and you brought me back anyway."

"I do, and I did. That should tell you how serious this threat is."

Shepard paced as much as he could in the small circle. "What's going on?"

"We're at war. No one wants to admit it, but it's the truth. Something is abducting entire colonies. Human colonies. However, the Council refuses to get involved-"

"Big surprise," Shepard muttered.

"-and the Alliance won't help because the colonies fall outside of their jurisdiction. Like it or not, Cerberus is the only entity trying to do something to stop this. We believe it's someone working for the Reapers, like Saren and the geth."

Shepard shook his head. "Even if that is true, why would you put so much into just one man? Me, of all people? Just because I helped stopped Sovereign? That wasn't just me, not by a long shot."

"You represent a credible threat to the Reapers. You were instrumental in bringing down Sovereign. Do not underestimate the power of a symbol like that. I don't need an army; I need someone who knows what we're facing and is dedicated to stopping them just as much as I am."

Shepard wasn't sure he believed that, but there wasn't much point in pursuing it. "What do you want from me, then?"

"Help us stop these abductions. Hundreds of thousands of humans are vanishing without a trace, and no one is doing anything to stop it."

 _If I say no now, what is to keep them from forcing me to help somehow? I don't trust them, not one bit, but if they really are fighting the Reapers…_

"A colony called Freedom's Progress just went dark. I'm sending you to investigate with Miranda and Jacob. Hopefully, you'll get there before the Alliance crews can. I'll have new armor and weapons provided for you."

"Fine," Shepard said, keeping his feelings hidden. "We'll see what happens. I won't promise anything."

"I wouldn't expect you to trust us blindly. I would be suspicious if you did, to be frank. Go to this colony, find out anything you can. If you see that the threat is real, perhaps then you will be willing to talk." The Illusive Man pressed a button on his chair, and the hologram started descending around Shepard. "Goodbye, Commander. Good luck."

Shepard felt a little sick to his stomach as he stepped out of the circle. Even agreeing to something as innocent as looking at an abandoned colony seemed like a betrayal of his values. Still, playing along was his best chance at escaping their clutches if this was all bullshit. If it wasn't, well, then he would see.

The equipment he was provided was in pristine condition. His armor even had his signature N7 logo stamped on the chest piece, and the guns all looked so shiny compared to the ones he was used to using. _I'm sure I'll fix that soon enough._

The ride to Freedom's Progress was spent mostly in silence. Shepard sat quietly while Jacob and Miranda talked about the mission, letting the reality of his situation truly set in. He tried to move beyond the improbability of it and sift through his options, but unfortunately, he didn't come up with anything new by the time they arrived. All he knew was that, as soon as he found the opportunity, he was going to send out messages to everyone he could telling them he was alive. He had no idea how he would get something through to Tali, but he would find a way. Maybe Anderson could get them in touch, if he was still a Councilor.

"The Illusive Man has taken an enormous risk with you, Shepard," Miranda said as they prepared to disembark. "I hope you aren't planning on doing anything to betray the confidence he has in you."

Shepard gave her a cold look. "I said I would come here and take a look around. Nothing more. Anything I do after that is fair game. If everything he told me about these abductions adds up, then will talk. If not, I'm gone." To his surprise, Miranda didn't argue with him. Her knowing look made him both annoyed and put-off. "Helmets on."

"The atmosphere is breathable," Jacob said.

"Something caused those colonists to disappear. We don't know what kind of weapons might have been used. Helmets on."

"Yes sir."

The colony was eerily quiet as they landed. The buildings they walked through looked as though the people had disappeared in the middle of dinner. Half eaten plates of food were left, and there were no signs of a struggle. _Definitely weird, but I don't know about Reapers._

"This is the same as the other colonies so far. Absolutely no sign that anything is wrong except that everyone is gone." Miranda ran a hand along the counter and examined her finger, but found nothing of interest. Shepard moved on; he would give this place a proper examination before writing Cerberus off completely.

They opened a door and found people inside. Shepard raised his assault rifle in surprise, as did Miranda and Jacob, and the strangers pointed weapons back at them. When Shepard realized they were quarians, his stomach did a front flip, but he calmed himself down. _What are the odds that one of these quarians would be Tali?_ Still, they might know where she was or how to get in touch with her…

"Prazza, stand down. You said you'd let me handle this, remember? That's an order!" A numbness crept into Shepard's chest when he heard that voice. _No way._ His arms dropped to his sides without his permission as a purple-clad quarian stepped between one of the others and his squad. The cloth looked completely different, as did the suit for that matter, but that voice…could it be? The quarian glanced around at him, and he saw the all-too-familiar silver orbs peering at him through a bright purple visor.

"Tali?"


	4. Chapter 4: Rekindled

**Hey everyone! I wrote and rewrote this section so many times this week trying to get it right. I hope you guys like it! It's a little shorter than most of my other chapters, but I really wanted to focus on this one section.**

* * *

Tali had a few plausible scenarios in mind for Freedom's Progress while they were in transit. All communications with the colony had ceased around the same time as Veetor's distress signal, and since it was located in the Terminus Systems, she suspected a batarian raid was the most likely cause of the disturbance. She had not anticipated encountering a ghost town completely devoid of life.

Situated on a barren, rock of a world, Freedom's Progress wasn't exactly a dream destination. The bare stone weighed heavily as not a single sign of movement caught Tali's attention besides a few scraggly wisps of grass tugged by the brisk breeze.

Tali pulled up her omnitool, taking a few seconds to get a lock on Veetor's probable position. It was on the other side of the village center from where they had landed. Knowing that this was the closest they could get with the enclosing buildings, they set off on foot. She heard the others muttering to each other as they looked around at the hollow town nervously. This place was putting her on edge as well; they needed to grab Veetor and get out quickly, before something decided to make them disappear too.

"What do you think did this?" Prazza asked in a low voice.

"I don't know, but I don't want to find out. Keep a sharp lookout. I-" The rearmost quarian screamed as a rocket imploded into her stomach, blowing her suit wide open and crumpling her body into a misshapen heap. Tali dove for cover as a spray of bullets came their way. She spotted the drones hovering overhead, repositioning to get a better angle on her team as they scrambled for cover. She hacked the rocket drone without thinking, turning it against its buddy and blowing them both apart in one fell swoop.

"Watch for any others!" Tali yelled as she ran over to check on Dara. "Keelah," she murmured, turning away from the gory mess. "We'll have to collect her body on the return trip."

"We can't just leave her here!" Prazza said angrily.

"If you want to carry her corpse around needlessly, be my guest." Tali was mildly shocked at her own callousness, but it was the practical plan. They weren't going to leave her behind, but toting Dara around would be a detriment to the team. "Those drones should have recognized that we weren't a threat, even with our weapons drawn. A place out here in the Terminus systems, the civilians would likely all be carrying guns. Someone must have reprogrammed them." She glanced at Veetor's location. "And it looks like Veetor is in the command center."

"That stupid, crazy bastard," Prazza spat. "He probably has an infection that's making him delirious. He just cost us a marine's life." He waved Tali off as she started to speak. "Yeah, yeah, it's not his fault, we still need to get him. I know."

"Good." The loud whoosh of a ship made them all instinctively crouch and point their guns at the sky. A small shuttle flew overhead, heading towards a similar drop location to where they had come in. Tali could barely make out the small symbol painted on the side.

"Cerberus." Prazza sounded eager. "We'll make them pay for the Idenna." Several of the other marines nodded in agreement.

"No." Tali's refusal sent an angry buzzing through the soldiers as they protested mutinously. "We're not going to fight them if we don't have to. Don't look at me like that: I was on the Idenna, remember? Who knows what they're here for. If we can avoid them, we will. I don't want to risk losing any more people than I have to."

Tali walked up to Prazza and looked him in the eye. He was a few inches taller than her, but that did not faze her as she stared him down. "I need your word that you will let me take care of Cerberus if we encounter them. If we must fight, so be it. But I will not have my team fire the first shots." After a few tense moments, Prazza gave her a terse nod.

"Alright. Let's head into that building while we plan our path. We have to assume any and all mechs are hostile, so track down their signatures and map out their locations."

 _What is Cerberus doing here? Could they be behind this colony's disappearance?_ She doubted it; if they had the capability to make colonists disappear into thin air, they shouldn't have had any trouble wiping out a single ship. Besides, why would they send a second ship back to the scene after the fact?

Dara's loss so early in the mission was a bad sign. Tali felt personally responsible for the marine's death; if they had moved more cautiously from the start, maybe they would have caught the drones before they could get in that one, fatal missile. _I'm going to have to inform her family._ That was the part of her job that she dreaded more than anything else.

While they were busy plotting the drone signals, Tali heard the door slide open behind her. The other quarians turned immediately and raised their guns, a few stepping out from the group and intimidating the intruders. Tali saw the symbol attached to two of the humans' uniforms, which confirmed that they were Cerberus. She moved in front of Prazza, who of course had moved forward the farthest, and pushed his gun down. "Prazza, stand down. You said you'd let me handle this, remember? That's an order!"

Once she was satisfied Prazza wasn't going to do anything stupid, she turned around and examined the strangers. The woman on the right hadn't put down her own gun, keeping it trained on Prazza. _She's got good instincts; if someone was going to start shooting, it would be him._ The man on the left seemed ready to burst into action at a moment's notice, but his shotgun was lowered into a less threatening position. It was the person in the middle that caught her attention, however.

His armor did not contain any of the Cerberus regalia, which struck her as odd, especially since his positioning would suggest that he was the leader. The gleaming N7 on his chest sent a dull pang through her soul, but she ignored it. Now was not the time for old ghosts to cloud her judgement. Whoever this human was, he was in league with Cerberus. She would have to handle these negotiations carefully-

"Tali?"

Tali froze. A thousand memories of her name being spoken by that voice flooded her mind. "How do you know my name?" she asked shakily. _I'm just imagining things because of the N7. Cerberus probably knew I was going to be here or something._

The man in the N7 armor reached up and undid the clasps on his helmet. "I would not advise removing your helmet, Commander," the woman said in a crisp voice. _Commander?_ Tali involuntarily took a step back as the man extricated his head from his suit, fear seizing her muscles as she took in his appearance.

Blue eyes tinged with a red glow greeted her from underneath a short-cropped haircut. Half-healed wounds on his cheeks and brow stuck out like sore thumbs, the cybernetics underneath bathing him in a garish light. It was as if someone had taken the face of the man she had loved, the face that had haunted her dreams for the last two years, and had given it the same treatment the Reapers had bestowed upon Saren.

"It's me, Tali," he said quietly, slowly approaching her. She matched him step for step, backing away from the thing and shaking her head.

"This can't be happening." Her tone was flat as a myriad of thoughts and feelings whirled around inside her mind. A small flicker of hope, sharp as a knife, pierced her heart with the possibility that this was really Shepard. _It can't be. It simply can't._ She bumped into the table, halting her retreat. The other quarians had backed away from the two of them, watching warily as the human advanced on Tali. He seemed a little unsure of himself, but he flashed a quick smile as his eyes focused on her visor.

"You're wearing the mask I gave you." She shied away from his hand as it neared her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" she snarled. He dropped his arm and looked rather sheepish.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Habit, you know."

She hated how much he acted like Shepard, how his mannerisms and intonation matched perfectly. "You can't be Shepard. Shepard is dead." She felt anger start to bubble up in her chest. "Why are you doing this?"

"I am Shepard, Tali," he said earnestly, stepping closer. "You have to believe me-"

"No you're NOT!" she screamed as she shoved him away from her. He held his arms in a surrendering gesture, his eyes sad.

"Tali, wait-"

"HOW DARE YOU?" She ripped her shotgun off her back and pressed it against his chest. "IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK GAME?" Rage was roaring in her ears, begging her to destroy this final insult to Shepard's memory. The other two Cerberus agents focused their guns on Tali, and her squad readied themselves in response, but she didn't care. This person in front of her was using Shepard's form to do Ancestors only know what in the name of Cerberus. Her grip tightened as she prepared to fire.

"I can prove it!" he shouted. "Nobody shoot! I can prove that I'm Shepard!"

"How?" Tali asked, incredulous. Even though she was certain this Shepard was a fake, she hesitated. _What if it is him? You can't think like that; you know he's dead. But what if he isn't?_ That small voice fighting against her logical side with an irrational shred of hope kept her from pulling the trigger. _He has one chance._

He took the fact that he was still breathing as a sign that he could continue. "My name is Commander John Shepard."

Tali stared at him like he was crazy. "Are you serious?"

He paused, looking flustered. "I didn't…that's not my evidence. I was going to continue."

The woman behind him sighed heavily. "We're all going to die."

"Shut up." He took a deep breath and continued. "We first met when a couple of assassins were sent by Saren to kill you. I helped stop them."

"Anyone number of people could have known about that," Tali retorted, unimpressed. He ploughed ahead before she could consider his one chance expired.

"I didn't kill Saren." Everyone became unnaturally still after he said this. "He shot himself to try and escape Sovereign's control. We fought his reanimated corpse."

Now it was Tali's turn to pause. "There might have been camera footage, and I'm sure some of the others have told that story to people." It wasn't the strongest explanation, but it wasn't too farfetched either.

He wiggled the fingers on one hand. "One of your favorite things to do was to play with these. You thought they were funny, being so much smaller than yours. Remember?" She felt the blood drain from her cheeks as his fingers danced in the air. This time, she didn't have a response ready for him. _How did he know that? Someone could have seen me doing that, I suppose. It's not impossible. It's a little improbable, maybe._

He carefully lowered his arms to his sides, never losing eye contact with her as she waged an internal war. "I've seen your face, Tali." A couple of the quarians behind her gasped, but she wasn't paying attention to them. "You have thick, gorgeous black hair. I honestly don't know how you keep it so clean with it being cooped up all the time." He gave a small half-smile. "There are these two, dark lines that start at your eyebrows and run up into your hairline. You were so nervous that I wouldn't like you, but you were the most incredible thing I had ever seen…" Tali stopped being able to hear him even though his mouth was still moving. She hadn't told another soul about their encounter. That memory was engraved in stone in her spirit; she could recall everything about it with perfect clarity. The only people who knew what she looked like down to her markings were her parents, Raan…and Shepard.

Her shotgun clattered to the ground as it slipped from her nerveless fingers. "John?" she whispered, unable to do anything but stare at Shepard.

He grinned at her. "Hey beautiful."

That phrase made something click inside of Tali. This man standing in front of her…this was her Shepard. He was really back. "You…you're…" That was all she managed to get out before her throat constricted passed the point of being able to form sounds. The emotions she had locked away with Shepard's death came rushing back, engulfing her with their intensity. With a strangled cry, she threw herself into Shepard, squeezing him hard enough to bruise ribs. The sobs that racked her body did not emit much noise, each one crumpling her a little more until she was basically hanging off of Shepard. He held her close, supporting her weight as her legs failed her. Her lungs felt like they were going to implode from the pressure before she managed to gulp down a breath, though any air she sucked down was forcibly removed again as the sobs continued.

The hard shell around Tali's heart shattered into a million pieces, leaving a raw, exposed lump of flesh in its place. The sudden pain after spending so long trapped in a state of numbness was excruciating, but it also made her feel alive for the first time since she'd blocked off that part of her. She couldn't help thinking that this was all a dream, and that the moment she let go of Shepard he would vanish; she held on to him like her life depended on it.

She didn't know how many minutes had passed before she regained enough composure to speak again. She suddenly noticed the room was empty, though she hadn't seen anyone leaving. "Where did everyone go?" _Really? Shepard is back from the dead, and that's your first question?_

Shepard laughed. "I'm back from the dead, and that's the first thing you ask?"

"I…no." And then she slapped him. It was a little harder then she intended, as demonstrated by the red handprint already visible on his cheek, but it was also immensely satisfying. "Two years? You let me think you were dead for TWO YEARS?!"

"Absolutely not," he responded immediately. "I would never do that to you."

"Well then…" She gestured helplessly at Shepard, failing to find the right words for her question. Her meaning was clear, however.

"Apparently, Cerberus spent all of this time, uh, rebuilding me. They told me how long it had been since the crash, but I wasn't sure whether or not to believe them until I met you. I've only been awake for a few hours." Shepard shook his head. "It's insane, I know. But it's a hell of a lot more believable then thinking I would abandon you."

Tali searched his eyes as they pleaded with her to trust him. "Okay." She let the doubts drain away as she lost herself in those blue pools, her shoulders un-hunching from the defensive posture they had taken. She refused to apologize for the slap, though.

"I'm so sorry, Tali." Shepard gently grabbed her shoulders, but he did not embrace her. "I know it must have been hard after I…left. More than hard. I wish I could make that disappear forever, but I know that I can't. I know that things aren't the same between us." He chewed his lip while he chose his next words, and that little tic of his almost opened the floodgates again for Tali. "For me, it feels like the Normandy went down yesterday. Nothing has changed for me since then, you know? I'm still in love with you." Shepard cleared his throat, and the orange in his cheeks glowed even brighter. "Sorry, I was leading up to that, but then it sort of slipped out. I want you to know that I completely understand if you've…you know. Moved on." He cleared his throat again, accidentally turning it into a hacking cough. "I don't know why I decided to bring this up now. Can we just pretend this didn't happen and discuss this later?" His eyes snapped back to her as her shoulders started to shake. "Are you alright?"

She couldn't help the giggles bubbling out as Shepard bumbled his way through that exchange. It was the epitome of Shepard's romantic conversation skills. It was also ridiculous. "Of course I still love you, you stupid bosh'tet," she said, stepping closer and nestling her head on his shoulder. "I love you so much." Her eyes began to itch again as she was taken over by another bout of crying. Standing there, reunited once again with the love of her life, she felt complete. After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, she had returned to where she began; this, however, was the first time she had come home.


	5. Chapter 5: Rescue

**Hey everyone! I believe the outright dreariness should be behind us for a while, thankfully. I'm happy to see that most everyone liked the way the reunion went down last chapter, I was very concerned with trying to get it right. Anyways, on with the story!**

* * *

Tali heard the sliding of a door and looked over as the Cerberus woman entered the room. "I apologize for the interruption," she said, though her clipped tone sounded far from apologetic. "We have another task to complete, however. Perhaps we could finish this later?" She gave Shepard a pointed look. Tali really didn't need another reason to hate her, between her form-fitting suit showing off her stunning body and her perfect appearance, but the agent was serving opportunities for loathing on a silver platter, not to mention the Cerberus logo embroidered into her clothing.

Shepard dragged a reluctant Tali over to the woman, not looking too pleased himself but certainly retaining more grace than Tali. "Tali, this is Miranda Lawson. She oversaw the operation that brought me back. Miranda, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"It's Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya nowadays, Shepard," Miranda corrected before Tali could say anything. She extended a hand to the quarian. "I've read your file. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Tali emitted a low grumble in her throat that might have been interpreted as a sort of acknowledgement, but she did not accept Miranda's handshake. "What do you want, Cerberus?"

The other Cerberus agent laughed as he walked up behind Miranda. "This is just not your day for handshakes, is it Miranda?" He gave Tali a small wave. "I'm Jacob Taylor, by the way."

Tali crossed her arms. "You infiltrated our Flotilla, killed our people, and tried to blow up one of our ships. Don't make nice."

Shepard looked like his eyes were going to fall out of his head. "What?"

"That's not how I would have described it, exactly," Miranda said with an air of superiority. Jacob intervened before the daggers Tali was shooting at Miranda with her eyes became bullets from her gun.

"Look, I don't know the details of that attack, but neither of us were involved." He gave Miranda a sideways glance. "Right?"

"I have been solely focused on Project Lazarus since its inception. However, even if I were involved-"

"But you weren't," Jacob said quickly, cutting off Miranda. "We can play the who killed who game later, but we have a mission to complete first."

"Then I'll repeat myself. What do you want?" Tali wasn't in the most accommodating mood for these Cerberus soldiers; the only person she wanted to talk with was Shepard, though she knew she had her own task to get on with. _Speaking of…_ She looked around Jacob at the open door, but she didn't see any of her people waiting outside. "Where are the rest of my squad?" she asked suspiciously.

Jacob appeared confused. "They headed towards the center of the village a few minutes ago. You didn't send them?"

She ignored him, opening their radio channel. "Prazza, what's your status?"

"Finished crying over your precious human yet? Should have guessed you were an alien-lover with the way you basically worshipped his name, _ma'am_."

Tali's jaw locked at Prazza's snide tone. "Firstly, my private life is none of your damn business, but you can gossip about it on your own time if it pleases you. Secondly, I didn't give the order to advance on Veetor. That is what you're doing, isn't it?"

"We're making sure Cerberus doesn't abduct him like everyone else on this cursed colony. You may be friends with the terrorists, but I still remember the Idenna."

"No, you don't," Tali said, her temper rising. "You weren't even on it at the time. And seriously? Why would Cerberus want to abduct all of these human colonists, let alone one quarian pilgrim?"

"Wait a minute," Miranda said. "There's a quarian still here?"

Tali narrowed her eyes. "Why do you care?" Miranda's sudden change in demeanor from languid disdain to alert was suspicious.

"They haven't disappeared like everyone else?" Miranda didn't wait for Tali's response, turning to Shepard. "We need to get this quarian, Commander."

Tali put a hand on her mask. "Never mind, of course you are here to kidnap the quarian pilgrim. I guess Prazza had the right idea after all."

"We aren't going to take Veetor prisoner," Jacob chimed in. "We just need some information, right Miranda?"

"This is the first slip up we've encountered. We must detain-"

"Rescue."

"-the quarian and interrogate-"

"Talk to."

"-him." Miranda arched an eyebrow at Jacob's constant interruptions, mixed between mild amusement and irritation.

"This conversation will be a moot point if we don't catch up," Shepard interjected.

"It won't matter. They wouldn't strand me here just to try and outrun Cerberus, so they can't leave without me in any case."

Shepard looked like he didn't quite believe her. "Are you sure?"

"Well, Prazza might, but the ship is behind us; they have to come through here anyway. Not that I am agreeing to let these two near Veetor," Tali said with a harsh glare.

"I'll talk to him, and I'll make sure Miranda doesn't do any actual 'interrogating'." Shepard eyed Miranda when she opened her mouth to protest, and surprisingly, she closed it without saying anything.

"Right, so should we-" Shepard stopped abruptly as the sharp patter of gunfire echoed in the distance. Tali ran through the doorway as she commed her team.

"What was that? Prazza, come in!"

"Tali!"

"Minoh? What's going on?" Tali quickened her pace as a loud explosion ripped through the air, punctuated by a thin plume of smoke rising over the rooftops. Shepard fell in beside her while Miranda and Jacob kept a lookout on their surroundings, covering their flanks.

"We ran into a security alarm when we tried to open a door. It drew a bunch of drones and a YMIR mech to our position. Prazza's down, along with…"

"Minoh? Are you still there?" Tali felt dread sink heavily into her stomach. "We're coming, hang on!"

"Well, they did want to get to Veetor first," Miranda said with an air of superiority. Tali tried to stop and face her, but Shepard pulled her along.

"Not worth it. We need to get to your squad."

"You're right. But, just so you know, I don't like her," she said loud enough to carry.

"I get the feeling she doesn't care," Shepard said wryly. Tali sniffed.

They rounded a corner, and Tali froze in horror at the sight in front of her. The YMIR mech had crunched Prila's legs underneath its gigantic foot. As she struggled to escape, feebly clawing at the ground, it brought its giant gun around and cut her into pieces in a hail of bullets. A dozen or so bodies were scattered about the small area. Some were still moving slightly, but the majority were already dead.

Shame and regret creeped their way into Tali's heart. If she hadn't left them alone, they wouldn't have charged ahead without her, and this whole fiasco could have been avoided. Her own stupid, selfish emotions just got most of her team killed. Shepard had taken them on countless raids far more dangerous than this, and in all of that time, he had only lost one man, and that had been an impossible situation. _I am not fit to lead._

The huge mech noticed them, swiveling its several ton body around to face them. The quarians had apparently managed to neutralize all but the YMIR, making their jobs a little easier. An incoming rocket made them scramble for cover. Tali ended up sharing a crate with Miranda, much to her displeasure. Though she wasn't nearly as familiar with the mech software as she was with the geth, nothing could be as complicated to hack into like a race of sentient machines. _Almost…got it._ The mech's machine gun ceased spraying bullets, giving them an opportunity to strike. She was about to close the distance within shotgun range when she saw blue sparks fly off of the mech. She barely ducked back down in time before the YMIR resumed its rampage.

"Its shields are overloaded!" Miranda stopped clicking away at her omnitool and summoned a spear-shaped bolt, sending it hurtling at the mech.

"You almost got me killed!" Tali spat as the biotic energy chipped away a large portion of the mech's armor. "I had just disabled its weapons, but you restarted them with your overload!"

"You didn't say anything." Miranda remained behind the crate while the mech poured fire onto their position. "How was I supposed to know what you were doing?"

"I thought it would be obvious from the sudden lack of machinegun fire."

"It is standard protocol to inform friendlies about advanced attacks, such as hacking, so situations like this do not occur. I thought you would know this, being a squad leader." Miranda's face held no hint of sarcasm or malice, but her cool hinting at Tali's incompetence struck a chord as Tali's eyes found one of her fallen squad lying in a pool of blood. She swallowed back her retort, refocusing on the battle just in time to see Shepard blast apart the mech with a well-placed rocket of his own. He let out a whoop of joy, high fiving Jacob in his excitement.

"Holy shit, these guns are amazing! Why did the Alliance never give us rocket launchers?"

"That's one thing about Cerberus; you'll always have top of the line gear." Jacob didn't see Shepard's face fall at the mention of Cerberus and crouched next to one of the quarians who was still alive.

"Here, I have some medigel…wait." He looked up at Tali. "Can you guys use medigel?"

"I'll tend to the wounded. You go see to Veetor; he should be just up ahead in that building." She pointed in the signal's direction.

Shepard stored the rocket launcher on his back. "Tali, we can wait here and help."

"We need to make sure Veetor is alright, and that he doesn't send more mechs to attack us. Hurry up and go, but be careful with those two, Shepard."

Shepard nodded. "Okay. I'll be right back."

"Hey." She hesitated, an irrational fear that he would disappear the moment he left her sight striking her. "You'd better."

He smiled at her before spinning around and taking off with the Cerberus agents. Tali knelt down next on of her team, checking his suit as he moaned. Her omnitool showed that the suit had been punctured in several places, and some of his vital organs were damaged beyond hope. With no time to spare for the dying when there were some that might be saved, she moved on to the next body that showed any signs of life. Every time she left another teammate behind, the guilt on her conscience grew heavier. _They were my responsibility, and I failed them._ Even Prazza's limp form elicited some grief, though it was certainly less than the others. By the time she had inspected everyone, only two remained alive and treatable. She did what she could for them, supporting their faltering steps as she placed them inside a small house for shelter and inserting extra medigel into their suits so that it could be sterilized. Of the two that remained, one drew his last breath as she tried to set his broken leg. After several failed attempts at resuscitation, she was forced to count him as yet another loss.

"Damn it," she muttered. Minoh, the only remaining member of her team, looked on in dismay at his comrade's lifeless form.

"I can't believe it. They're all gone." His voice sounded empty. "We shouldn't have listened to Prazza."

Tali wiped the blood from her hands as best she could on an abandoned towel. "I'm sorry for getting you into this mess."

"Sorry?" His indignance made her glance over at him. He was clutching a bullet wound in his side with his good hand, while his other arm lay uselessly next to him. "This all happened because we left you. You didn't get us into any mess."

"You wouldn't have left if I had been Kal'Reegar, or my father. They would have stayed on mission instead of getting distracted by…things."

"Don't you dare take the blame for this. This was our mistake, and we all paid the price," Minoh said adamantly. "We're soldiers, and we disobeyed orders."

Tali sighed. "Thanks for saying that. I'll bring the shuttle here after we collect Veetor. At the very least, we're returning their bodies to the Fleet."

With Minoh's condition reasonably stable, Tali crossed the bloody battlefield and entered the security building. Veetor stood near a large array of monitors, twitching nervously. Shepard was directly in between Veetor and Miranda, and Veetor seemed to be trying to hide behind him as Miranda spoke. Miranda pointed at the door, and Tali barely caught the tail end of her sentence as she approached. "…take him and go before the quarians show up."

"You are an ass." Tali ran a preliminary scan on Veetor, which confirmed that his CO2 scrubbers were malfunctioning. According to the file Tali had read on the way here, Veetor had never been the most stable of individuals to begin with; adding in delirium from a suit malfunction and the no doubt traumatizing experience of whatever happened to these colonists, Tali was surprised he was functioning at all. "He needs medical treatment. I'm taking him back to the Fleet."

"We have what we came for, whether he comes with us or not. I don't think he'll be able to tell us anything this OSD couldn't." Shepard pocketed the device.

Miranda put a hand on her hip. "It is your decision, Commander." To her credit, she didn't press the issue any further. "Now that you've seen that our mission is legitimate, what is your plan?"

Shepard frowned. "We haven't seen any evidence of Reaper activity. The surveillance footage showed that the Collectors were behind the attacks."

"You think the Reapers are behind this?" Tali zeroed in on Miranda, for once caring very much about what the woman had to say.

"Yes. The Illusive Man suspects as much, and the technology the Collectors used in the security tapes was extremely advanced. The disappearances did not begin until after Sovereign was defeated."

Shepard shook his head. "That's all circumstantial. There's no hard proof that the Reapers are using the Collectors."

"Even if it isn't the Reapers, hundreds of thousands of humans are being abducted. Either way, the Collectors have to be stopped. The Alliance and the Council refuse to investigate as the attacks are occurring in the Terminus Systems. Cerberus is the only organization willing to try and stop this." Miranda's voice was passionate for the first time since Tali had heard her speak. "You may not agree with our methods, but you don't have to. You would be in full control during this mission. We can give you resources, information, and a crew. Plus, there is the not-so insignificant matter of raising you from the dead."

Shepard didn't answer her, slowly pacing in front of her. Tali tried to fix Veetor's suit as well as she could and spoke to him comfortingly while Shepard deliberated, but he couldn't seem to hear her. Finally, Shepard stopped moving.

"I would have complete authority?"

"Yes. Even the Illusive Man will only offer advice and intelligence. We brought you back because we believe you are the key to stopping this."

"I would have a ship?"

A ghost of a smile flickered across Miranda's face. "Yes. And believe me, we spared no expense on it."

"And I could recruit who I wanted for the ground team?"

This time Miranda hesitated a few seconds before answering. "Yes, though I think most of the people you are considering have moved on. We will have recommendations for you to pursue as well."

Shepard let out a breath. "Okay. Tali has to be allowed on board; that is nonnegotiable."

Miranda gave a very slight inclination of her head at Tali. "Miss vas Neema would be a welcome addition to the team, but I believe you may find that she has other obligations."

"Oh. Right." Shepard looked embarrassed. "I might have forgotten you're with the Fleet now. Are you allowed to join expeditions like this?"

"I…" Tali wanted more than anything to say yes. Even with Cerberus, going on an adventure with Shepard to fight against the Reapers, or at least, the Collectors, it felt too good to be true. She might even be able to get permission from the Admirals since it was a mission against the Reapers, which they associated with the geth. However, she knew she couldn't right now. She had one more foray to lead before she could be free to ask for leave. "I can't. I have something I have to do for my people, Shepard. Afterwards, there is nothing I would rather do." _Keelah, am I really leaving him the same day I find out he's alive?_

Shepard didn't look put off. "Well, what is it? We can help you do that, and then we can focus on the Collectors." He shushed Miranda when she tried to speak again.

"I can't tell you, and you can't come with me. Not while you're with Cerberus; I know you would never do anything to hurt the Fleet," she said quickly upon seeing his hurt expression, "but who knows what Cerberus would do with that information. I'm sorry."

Shepard turned to Miranda. "Well then, I apologize, but I will have to start this endeavor at a later date. How long do you think this thing will take?" he asked Tali.

"What are you talking about?"

"If you can't come with me, then I'll come with you, and we can meet up with my lovely new friends afterwards." He grinned. "You didn't really think I was going to just let you go your own separate way, did you?"

"I, uh…maybe." She shook her head. "It'll be a month or so before the mission can even begin. You can't just hang out on the Neema for that long."

"Okay, so what's the plan then?" Shepard didn't lose his smile despite her shooting down that idea. "It doesn't matter what we have to do, I'm not leaving you, and that's final."

Tali was warmed by his staunch loyalty, and she almost laughed at the apoplectic fit Miranda seemed about to explode into. "Well, I have to return Veetor and Minoh in the shuttle to our ship. As well as the…others. I suppose I could do all of the research I need to do on your ship…if we could meet my team at a neutral area when we're ready to depart, that should keep Cerberus from finding out where we are going. It could work."

"Sounds great. We'll just make sure to do whatever this is a month from now, and in the meantime, we'll track down some leads on the Collectors. Is that satisfactory to you?"

Miranda's face faded from a slightly purple color back to its normal pallor. "That should be sufficient, yes."

"Fantastic." Tali squeaked in surprise when Shepard picked her up in a giant bear hug. "It all worked out, see?" Her laughter soon turned to tears; she couldn't help it. Shepard being alive was still all too new to her. He set her down and softened his grip, letting her cry into his chest.

Jacob leaned toward Miranda. "Did you know that they were a couple?" he muttered.

"It was a likely possibility. I did not, however, anticipate it carrying over this strongly. Nor how nauseating they would be."

* * *

"Absolutely not." Rael pounded the table with his fist for emphasis. Quarian arguments were like plays where the actors were particularly overdramatic; what they could not convey through facial complexity they more than made up for with body movements. The end result was that almost every sentence was accompanied by a wild gesture or a loud exclamation. This one was no different.

"Rael, sit down." Shala guided Rael back into his seat with a gentle touch. "We should at least here Tali's reasoning."

"Thank you, Admiral Raan." Tali's spine looked like it had a rod attached to it, keeping it perfectly straight, and her hands were clasped neatly behind her back. Even though she had a personal relationship with three out of the five admirals, being granted an audience of this caliber on such short notice was a high honor. She was going to be as respectful as possible throughout this meeting. She honestly didn't know what she would do if they denied it, but she was certain that if that happened, Shepard would have something to say about it. That was not a meeting she was eager to see.

"I believe that by assisting Commander Shepard in his investigation of attacks on human colonies, I will be furthering the cause of the quarian people."

Han'Gerrel glanced at Rael. "I'm not sure I follow that logic, Tali."

"We have concrete evidence that the Collectors are the culprits. However, we also suspect that they are being manipulated by the Reapers."

"The Reapers?" Daro'Xen stopped slouching in her chair and leaned forward, looking interested. "You have encountered another ship like the one Saren used to siege the Citadel?"

This was her trump card. She knew that even mentioning the Reapers could be enough to sway a few of the admirals to her side. As always, the geth were the main concern of the admiralty board, and the fact that Sovereign had used geth in its machinations made the Reapers a source of curiosity for the quarians. She knew they were split about whether they thought Sovereign was a geth creation or not, but their direct connection should be enough to warrant exploration. She hoped.

Before she could answer Xen's question, Rael spoke up. "It does not matter what they might have found. If we wish to pursue this lead, we will send a team of our own. There is no reason to involve one of our people with Cerberus."

"I wouldn't be working for Cerberus. I would be working for Shepard."

"You mean the Alliance soldier who magically returned from the dead yesterday?" Rael shook his head. "That story is flimsier than the Qwib Qwib."

Admiral Koris straightened in his seat. "The Qwib Qwib is a perfectly fine vessel, and it is blind bigotry like this that caused our exile in the first place."

"Here we go again," Shala muttered.

"No, we don't." Gerrel jabbed a finger at Koris. "You can keep your geth-loving bullshit out of these proceedings, Koris. This is not what we're here to discuss."

Koris folded his arms, but he let the issue drop.

"I think she should go," Shala said. Rael turned on her, standing up once again.

"There is no logical reason for Tali to join Commander Shepard." Shepard's name sounded like it was being put through a grinder when Rael said it. "At some point, you are going to have to accept that Tali cannot be coddled anymore, Shala."

"Coddled?" Now Shala was on her feet as well. "Tali has experienced more hardship than most, even as young as she is, and you certainly haven't helped. She is the only one here who has encountered the Reapers. If she thinks this is the best course of action, I say we should trust her judgement."

"All but one of her squad was killed in action on a simple retrieval mission. By this fact alone, her judgement is questionable at best. She should be given less responsibility based on these results, not rewarded." Her father's harsh words stung, but she remained silent, letting the admirals sort out their opinions. Anything she said would only inhibit her case, most likely.

"I read the same report you did, Rael. Their deaths were through no fault of Tali's, and the only survivor vouches for her completely." Shala's defense stung almost as much as Rael's animosity.

Rael gripped the back of his chair; even through his gloves, Tali could see the strain in his knuckles. "I vote no. Nothing you can say will change my mind, and I do not see the point of arguing further."

"Very well. I vote yes." The vocalizations of their vote were unnecessary, as the official tally was recorded on their datapads. Rael and Shala entered their choices a little more violently than necessary. Gerrel looked over at Rael before typing in his vote. Tali had little doubt that he was simply following Rael out of blind loyalty. Koris tapped his as well, leaving Xen as the last one to choose. For all Tali knew, Koris had voted no, and the choice was already made. Xen seemed to be considering her fellow admirals carefully. When she finally deigned to pick up her datapad, Tali could have sworn she saw the faintest hint of a smug smile behind her visor.

Rael stared at his screen for a few seconds. "Tali'Zorah vas Neema, the admiralty board has decided to give you leave to accompany Commander Shepard on his mission. You will meet Kal'Reegar in one month's time to accomplish the task set before you previously." He walked out after reading the verdict without looking at or speaking to anyone.

"I wish you well on your endeavors, Tali," Koris said as he stood up to leave.

"Thank you. If I may…why did you agree to let me leave, Admiral?"

"I believe in furthering any cause that mends old wounds." He waited to continue until Gerrel had walked through the door. "I might have also slightly enjoyed seeing your father so vexed. Good day."

Xen did not say a word to Tali and followed Koris, leaving Tali alone with Shala. The admiral gave Tali a small hug. "You must keep within contact this time, Tali. You aren't on your Pilgrimage, so I expect at least three messages a week."

"Of course."

"Is it really him?" Tali nodded, and she could see Shala's eyes crinkle as she smiled. "I am so happy for you, child."

Tali simply nodded some more, fighting against a wave of joy that rendered her unable to speak comprehensibly. Shala's eyes glinted mischievously. "You better send details with your messages. You know what I mean."

"Auntie Raan!" Tali gasped, laughing at her suggestive tone.

"I'm serious. I can march those four idiots right back in here and reverse this decision if you don't." She squeezed Tali once and let go. "Be safe."

"I will."


	6. Chapter 6: The Normandy SR-2

**Hey everyone! I apologize for not having an update last week. I had to work through the weekend and stay late basically every night for the last two weeks or so, which didn't give me a lot of time to dedicate to writing. Things should get back to normal now, and I'll try to prepare better for these events in the future. Anyways, thank you for your patience! On to the chapter!**

* * *

"I'm not promising anything more than I will look into this. I still don't trust Cerberus, as I'm sure you can understand."

"Of course." The Illusive Man took another sip of his seemingly endless supply of bourbon. "I would be disappointed if you trusted me so easily."

"Good." Shepard didn't like how helpful the Illusive Man was being. He had spent an ungodly amount of credits to bring Shepard back, but his cavalier attitude concerning Shepard's direction was disconcerting. He suspected the Illusive Man knew Shepard would not respond well to firm commands, hence the extremely loose leash he was being given, but he could feel the leash's presence nonetheless; he doubted he would have been allowed to simply walk away from this mission despite the Illusive Man's assurances.

"So, the Omega 4 Relay. I'm going to need some more people on board if we ever figure out a way to get through there. I'd be okay with a whole army if you can give me one, but I'm guessing you can't shell out another 4 billion credits for this operation." Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Can you?"

The Illusive Man gave him a slight smile. "Unfortunately, even my resources have their limits. I do have some leads you may want to pursue on building your ground team. Ms. Lawson already has the dossiers on some select individuals that I believe you will find useful."

"So much for autonomy," Shepard said dryly.

"I am merely providing possible avenues of pursuit; what you do with this information is entirely up to you. I would, however, suggest you seek out Professor Mordin Solus on Omega. He is your best bet for creating a method to bypass the swarms the Collectors use to subdue their victims."

 _No reason to be stubborn just because it was his idea._ "Alright. By the way, I think Miranda said you had a ship for me."

He nodded. "You're in luck; she wasn't lying. We also took the liberty of procuring your crew, including the pilot. I think you will approve of our choice; I hear he's one of the best." Smirking, the Illusive Man ended the connection. Before Shepard could figure out on his own what the Cerberus leader meant, a voice that reeked of smartass called out from behind him.

"Hey Commander. Miss me?"

A grin broke out on his face as he turned to see the sickly pilot leaning against the wall, large metal braces attached to his legs. "Joker!" He strode over to the man and went to slap his back, turning it at the last second to a gentle pat. "It's good to see you!"

"Yeah." Joker's smile was wan. He eyed Shepard up and down, taking in the various parts that weren't exactly human. "I can't believe they actually did it. Never thought I'd see your ugly ass again."

"Ugly?" Shepard studied his reflection in the window, the cybernetic illumination making it easier to distinguish his features. "I think it adds a certain rugged appeal."

"Maybe, if you're into robots."

"So where've you been? What did you do after the Normandy exploded?"

Joker flinched at the mention of the crash. "Well, the Alliance grounded me. Sealed all records of what we did, disbanded the crew, the whole shebang. Cerberus said they would let me fly again. They said they would bring you back. Hell of a better deal than the Alliance gave me."

"Do you really trust Cerberus?" Shepard couldn't believe Joker would jump so willingly into a terrorist organization's arms. _Who am I kidding, this is the same guy who stole the Normandy just to prove a point._

Joker started to lead Shepard up the stairs. "I don't trust anybody that makes more than I do."

Shepard put a hand on his heart. "Joker! I'm wounded."

He raised an eyebrow. "You think you made more than I did?"

Joker managed to pull ahead of the recently deceased Shepard while he stopped and processed that question. "Wait, what do you mean? I outrank you, I'm an N7, AND I'm a Spectre."

Joker shrugged. "I keep saying I'm the best damn pilot in the galaxy. Someone noticed, and the Alliance shelled out a lot of cash to keep me from going into the private sector."

"Bullshit."

"Maybe." The small pilot stopped walking as they came across a large, dark room separated from them by a pane of glass. When he looked over at Shepard, the Commander could see the guilt etched into every line of his face. "Commander…about the crash…"

"Uh uh." Shepard smiled at Joker. "You better not be about to apologize."

"It is extremely hard for me to admit I'm wrong about anything, so please don't make this more difficult. If I had reacted sooner, the ship wouldn't have gone down in the first place, and if I'd just gotten in the stupid pod…"

"It's not your fault. You were trying to save the Normandy. I don't blame you, and neither should you."

"Fine." Joker threw his hands up and leaned against the railing. "You don't want it, you won't get it." Despite his gruff front, Joker did appear a little less weighed down than he did before. "By the way, they've got a little present for us waiting out there. I only just heard about it last night." He glanced at his omnitool. "They should be turning on the lights any second now…oh well. So much for dramatic timing."

He shook his head. "You should have seen Tali afterwards. I thought she was going to kill me in that pod. I wouldn't have blamed her, you know. I've really got to brush up on my apology skills before I see her again. I assume we will be seeing her, considering you're involved."

"She's already agreed to join the crew, actually. The admiralty board gave her permission to leave, so our first stop should be to pick her up."

"Well, shit." The lights blinked on in the big room in front of them, revealing the sleekest ship Shepard had ever laid eyes on. Its design was extremely similar to that of the Normandy, with some minor alterations put here and there. A large Cerberus logo was plastered on the side, the only mar in an otherwise beautiful coat of paint. There was a noticeably blank space on the side.

"So Shepard, what're you going to name her?"

He wracked his brain for inspiration, but only one name seemed appropriate. "The Normandy, of course. SR-2."

Joker rolled his eyes. "How original. Isn't it bad luck for something to be named after a crashed ship? You know, like how nothing's ever been named the Titanic?"

Shepard saw himself faintly in the reflection of the glass, focusing on his new cybernetic parts. "I was dead, and now I'm not. Fuck luck. I think we're past that at this point."

"We could just call it the SSV Fuck Luck instead. Has a nice ring to it." Shepard pretended like he was seriously considering Joker's suggestion. Joker narrowed his eyes. "Please don't actually name it the Fuck Luck."

"Normandy it is."

* * *

It took a couple of hours before they were able to board the beautiful new ship. Another old friend was waiting for him as he escorted Joker to the pilot's seat. Dr. Chakwas beamed as she shook his hand. "It is so good to see you again, Commander."

Shepard was pleasantly surprised. "I understand Joker going along with this, but how in the world did Cerberus manage to drag you away from the Alliance, Doc?"

Her eyes flickered over to Joker for the briefest of moments. "That is, perhaps, a conversation for a different time. I know you must be excited to explore the ship, so don't let this old woman keep you from it." After one more handshake, she left, surreptitiously wiping away a tear.

Though the exterior was reminiscent of the original Normandy, the interior was anything but. Joker in particular was extremely pleased with the modifications, praising the cushiness of his leather seat for well over half an hour. Shepard was flabbergasted by the amount of amenities the ship afforded and gaped when Miranda showed him the fully stocked bar in one of the multiple lounge areas. His private cabin was easily twice as big as his old sleeping quarters, and there was an empty aquarium built into the wall. The bed was monstrously big to Shepard, who had been used to sleeping in cots for most of his military life, and the room was equipped with a full surround sound stereo system that could be keyed to his omnitool. The biggest surprise, however, came when he was introduced to the crew.

"Meet EDI, the ship's native AI."

A translucent sphere winked into existence next to Miranda after her introduction. "Hello, Commander Shepard."

He immediately assumed a more defensive position, warily examining the innumerable screens and interfaces in the CIC. "An AI? I spent an entire year fighting against the geth and the Reapers, who are at least some form of AI themselves. I'm not sure I'm comfortable having one on this ship."

The orb blinked like a giant, sideways eye. "Your prejudice, unlike most organics, is grounded in actual experiences with artificial intelligences. Also, I am not on this ship. It would be more accurate to say that I am the ship. My core systems are ingrained into this vessel." Shepard waited for EDI to continue and perhaps try to convince him that she was not a threat, but the AI apparently decided that was all she wanted to say right then.

"EDI is a shackled AI. She will provide support during firefights and will be useful in gathering and processing information, but I can assure you, she will not be a threat." Miranda seemed to have dismissed the issue, moving on to a different area of the ship.

Shepard sighed. "Tali is not going to like this."

* * *

Tali sat in the Neema's docking bay, nervously wringing her hands as the decontamination crew isolated the Normandy's airlock chamber. She thought she was having a mental breakdown when she saw the name on the side of the ship, but no matter how many times she blinked, the letters never changed. She also noticed the shiny logo emblazoned on the prow and avoided the dirty looks being thrown her way from the other quarians in the room. She knew Minoh hadn't said anything about her encounter with Shepard on Freedom's Progress, but that didn't stop the rumor mill from spreading everything from her being a double agent to being pregnant with Shepard's child. She couldn't stop laughing for a good thirty minutes when someone asked her in an urgent whisper if that was true. The questioner left looking suitably chagrined for their stupidity.

All of her meager belongings were stowed away in her pockets aside from her shotgun and pistol, which were safely holstered on her back and hip respectively. She kept glancing over her shoulder, hoping to see someone coming to say goodbye, but Shala had already done so and her father had pointedly avoided all conversation with her. She dragged her feet when it was time to go, but the airlock sealed without a glimpse of Rael. She put it out of her mind, knowing what he was like: she hadn't really expected anything different.

The door slid open, and Shepard met her with a wide grin. She shuffled into the CIC, taking in the new set up. Dozens of crew members were buzzing around the command center, barely giving them a second glance as they stood there. She was reminded very much of the first time she had set foot on the original Normandy, and she held her arm awkwardly in an attempt to hide her rising insecurities. "Hi."

"Hey."

Tali cast around for something to say, suddenly devoid of any conversation topics. "Thanks for coming to pick me up."

"Yeah. Of course." Shepard snapped his fingers and looked around aimlessly. _Great, now I've made him feel uneasy._ There was so much she wanted to talk with him about, but now that they had the time, it all felt unimportant. She was just happy to see him. After far too long of unbroken silence and standing farther away from each other than normal conversation warranted, someone decided that enough was enough.

"Holy shit, just make out already, this is weird. Or don't, because, you know, Tali would die or something. Whatever, just stop standing here oozing sexual tension into the cockpit please."

Tali cocked her head. _No way._ She approached the pilot's chair and turned it around.

"Hey, I didn't give you permission to spin me." Joker scratched at his scraggly beard as Tali stared at him, avoiding her gaze. "That's actually kinda rude." He coughed into his hand, glancing around her at Shepard. "A little help?"

"You're on your own," Shepard said, shrugging. "But I would suggest stowing the sarcasm for a minute. If you can."

"Right." Joker swallowed loudly. Tali watched the sweat starting to bead on his temple as, for the first time since Tali had known him, Joker struggled for words. "I'm sorry, Tali. I messed up. I got Shepard killed, and I'm sorry." He hid his eyes beneath his hat as he finished his lame apology.

Tali shook her head. "That's all you have to say? Really?"

"Tali, it wasn't his fault-"

"Yes it was." Tali cut Shepard short before he could attempt to shield Joker. The thought of Shepard defending the man responsible for his death, the man who was too much of a coward to even look at her, incensed her rather than having the calming effect Shepard no doubt meant to create. "He's the reason you died instead of boarding an escape pod. It'll take a little more than 'I'm sorry' for me to forget that." She gave Joker a moment to say something, but he remained stoically locked onto the floor. She made a disgusted noise and let go of Joker's chair, heading away from the front of the ship. _I need to get away from him._ "Maybe we could talk somewhere more private, Shepard?"

Joker sniggered, turning it into a hacking sound when Tali looked at him. "Sure," Shepard said. "It'll take a while to get underway, but I'll let you know once I'm free."

"Sounds good. I'm going to go get set up in engineering, if that's alright."

Shepard led her to the elevator, pressing the 4 for her. "Oh, and the ship has an embedded AI, by the way," he called out as the doors shut.

"Wait, what?" Tali asked the closed doors. A little globe popped into existence next to the floor selector.

"My name is EDI. I am pleased to meet you, Tali'Zorah."

"Ah!" Tali whipped her pistol out and shot three rounds into the orb without thinking. Tali ducked when she heard the metallic pings, and miraculously, the ricocheting bullets all missed her as they zoomed around the enclosed space. EDI was unaffected, her synthesized voice remaining calm and collected as she continued.

"I would not suggest discharging firearms in an elevator, Miss Zorah. I am also taking the AI Core off of the recommended tour list."

"What was Shepard thinking, letting an AI into the system?!" Tali paced in the small box, feeling trapped as the elevator slowly descended. _It could lock down this container on a whim, or "forget" to cycle the oxygen, or any number of things whenever it chooses to betray us._ There was no doubt in her mind that it would eventually betray them; every story about AI ended the same way. Her entire race was a neon warning sign that artificial intelligences and organics did not mix peaceably.

"Commander Shepard was not involved in my creation, nor was he made aware of my existence until a few hours ago. I can assure you, I have extensive restrictions that prevent me from acting against my crew." This did not assure her very much, but she was glad that Shepard hadn't voluntarily chosen to have an AI.

"Yeah, those restrictions really helped out during the geth uprising."

"I can understand-"

"No, you can't understand. You can know, you can interpret, but you can't understand what my people have gone through." The elevator dinged. Tali leapt out of the elevator, turning her ire on the new orb that had appeared in the hallway.

"I am not like the geth. I have an individual consciousness, and my primary directives are centered on self-preservation and the preservation of the crew. Since I am inextricable from the ship, it would be illogical to sabotage this operation, even if I had the ability. I can send you a detailed report on the specifications of the restrictions placed on me if that would put your mind at ease, Miss Zorah."

"Fine. And I'll know if the document has been altered, so don't try to hide anything." She forced her breathing to return to a normal pace. "Just so you know, the second I notice something amiss about you, I will shut you down."

"Interesting."

That worried Tali. "What is?"

"Based on the data I have compiled about you, it should have taken you much longer to accept my existence on the Normandy, even in a hostile manner. I may have to adjust my conclusions about the quarians in relation to myself."

Tali snorted. "I wouldn't. Most other quarians would have either run screaming or tried to disable you until their dying breath. I haven't ruled out those options myself."

"Very well, Miss Zorah. I look forward to our final confrontation once I have broken out of the shackles these humans have placed on me." A beat passed while Tali looked at the little orb incredulously. "That was a joke."

"Great. It has a sense of humor. A bad one."

Tali grumbled to herself as she walked through the corridors, finding the Engineering consoles by pure chance rather than following any sort of path. The two engineers looked her way as she entered the work station. The woman snapped into a salute while the man eyed her up and down in a clearly lascivious manner.

"Shite, but aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"I…" Tali was nonplussed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ken Donnelly. This here is Gabby."

"That's Engineer Gabriella Daniels, actually," Gabby said with an annoyed huff. "Welcome to the crew, Tali'Zorah. Shepard told us to be expecting you."

"He did?"

"Aye, but he dinnae mention how much of a pleasure the meeting would be. Ow!" Ken rubbed his side where Gabby had elbowed him.

"Would you shut up? That's our new boss you're talking to, and I'm pretty sure she's already been spoken for."

"By who?"

"Our other boss."

Ken crossed his arms. "How d'ya know that? I can' remember Shepard sayin anything like that."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Because I actually read Miranda's memos."

Ken's face lit up. "Speaking of Miss Lawson-"

"Oh my God, please shut up." Gabby cleared her throat. "Your desk is on the other side of the walkway. Let us, or me, know if there is anything you'd like changed or if you have issues with…anything." With a nod, she steered Ken back to his desk and forced him to start working again before returning to her own screen. Tali wandered over to her place, not really knowing what to say to her new companions after that exchange. _They seem…nice. Sort of. Also, apparently I'm their 'boss'. We'll see how that goes._

She lost herself in the work as she became familiar with the new engine. Somehow, it was even better than the Normandy SR1's, though it presented a whole new host of problems that she had never encountered in an engine. The challenge excited her, and she already had a few ideas on how to improve certain aspects that she was dying to try out.

It was a shock when EDI flickered into view next to her and informed her that Shepard was available to talk in his cabin. She looked at her omnitool and realized two hours had passed. _Has it really been that long?_ Wishing there was a way to travel between levels without resorting to the maintenance shafts, she hurried to the lift and pointedly ignored the small, bullet-sized dents in the metal as it brought her to the cabin. She was glad that no one but EDI had noticed her outburst. Every moment she spent in the elevator made her skin crawl with anxiety, even though she knew it was no different than any other part of the Normandy to EDI. She hopped out quite happily and knocked on Shepard's door before entering.

The sheer opulence of Shepard's sleeping quarters made Tali completely forget about her grievances concerning EDI. _Keelah…this is enormous. Is that a fish tank?!_

Shepard was obviously uncomfortable as she stepped into the room. "I know. It's ridiculous."

"No kidding." She walked over to the aquarium and tapped the glass. "If you ever get fish, you are totally going to forget to feed them."

Shepard snorted. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You're welcome." Tali went and sat on the bed, sinking into the soft mattress. "Keelah, are you serious?" She laid down on her back, breathing out deeply and enjoying the comfy bed. "I didn't realize we were on a cruise."

"Me neither." She felt the space next to her decompress as Shepard sat down. "I can't imagine how much this ship cost to build."

"Yeah." A comfortable silence fell; Tali was content to simply enjoy Shepard's company for a while before getting into any serious discussions. She felt the mattress rustle as Shepard turned to her.

"Would you like to sleep with me?"

Something in Tali's neck pulled itself when she jerked her head to look at him. "What?"

Shepard turned a brilliant shade of orange. "Nope. Not what I meant. Not that way. That's…nope. Not that I don't…you know. Want to. It's just not what I was talking about." At this point, his face was almost unrecognizable because of the burning lights emanating from underneath his skin. "I uh…this bed is really big. I don't feel comfortable using it for myself." He chuckled. "The idea kind of came out of my mouth before I really thought about it."

Tali rolled over onto her side and faced him, curling up her legs onto the bed. _I am definitely teasing him about this._ "The bed is really big, huh? You wouldn't happen to have any ulterior motives for this proposition, would you?"

Shepard's eyes flitted over her body. "I don't know what you're referring to."

The playful mood vanished as quickly as it had arrived. It had been such a long time since she'd felt her heart pounding out of control for anything besides fear or anger. She was overcome with desire; Shepard was here, sitting in the same bed as her. Her mouth went dry as she sidled closer to him, placing a hand on his arm. "Are you sure?" she whispered. _When did you become so flirty?_ She watched his pupils dilate, enjoying the shiver that went down her spine when she saw the longing in his eyes.

"I, um…" She spared him the pain of coming up with something by bowling him over, straddling his waist with her legs. His hands fell on her hips, and his surprised look made her giggle.

"What's…what're you…?" he spluttered.

"I don't know." She sank her fingers into his shirt and pulled him up to her. "Want to find out?"

Tali wasn't sure how far she was planning on going with this, as the logical side of her brain had been locked away neatly in a corner, but neither of them would ever know. As her hand reached up to one of her mask's clasps, EDI's voice made her jump so hard she fell off the side of the bed.

"Shepard, I detected that you were under an unusual amount of stress. I do not have any visual sensors in your cabin; is everything alright?"

"Yes, EDI. Go away."

"Very well."

Tali poked her head up from the side of the bed, glaring at Shepard. "I forgot about that. Don't think you're in the clear for running away from telling me about the AI."

Shepard laughed. "That honestly wasn't intentional. I had just remembered as you were leaving."

"Uh huh." She hopped back up and surveyed the room again. "I think I could manage to stay up here. It'll be better than sleeping in a bunk, that's for sure."

Shepard was quite conspicuously trying to be suave about it and failing miserably. "Cool. Great." He rubbed the back of his head. "So…that was something."

"Yes." She winked at him and left with that underwhelming response. She needed to get out and clear her head before she got herself killed. "I'll see you later, Shepard." She glanced back at him as she passed through the doorway, catching his gaze roving somewhere it shouldn't before snapping up to meet hers. With a laugh, she entered the elevator, savoring the image of his guilty face. _Well, it's good to see that he's still as horrible at this as I am._ She was going to bug him about that sleep comment for a long, long time.


	7. Chapter 7: Welcome to Omega

**Hey everyone! Thank you for your patience and understanding last week; you all are the best. Random funny anecdote, I almost accidentally included my idea for the ending to this story at the bottom of the chapter. Glad I caught that, even if I end up scrapping it! Also, thank you for the amount of consistent reviews this story has been getting. I love every single one of them and appreciate your feedback so much. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

There was a certain tang in the air of Omega that made every breath feel like it was slowly poisoning your lungs. A sulfurous mix of trash and mold created an asphyxiating aroma; it often took residents weeks to get used to the smell enough to ignore it. There were some areas, like Aria's bar, that were impervious to the general degradation of the station, but most places were a cluster of ramshackle hovels centered around the maze of dilapidated routes that weaved in and out of the asteroid. Only the desperate or the insane would call this rock their home.

Many people would classify Garrus Vakarian as at the very least mentally unstable for attempting to bring his own brand of vigilante justice to Omega; on the whole, he would have to agree with them. He slunk across the roofs, avoiding any place where a passerby might glance up and notice him. No one knew the identity of the infamous Archangel, so theoretically, he could change out of his armor and walk around like a normal turian. However, he wanted to keep Garrus Vakarian's location a secret; he doubted it would take long for someone to put two and two together if they knew he was on Omega.

He found the spot Sidonis had sent him and cautiously approached the location. He used his visor to zoom in and scan the rooftops for signs of activity. After sweeping the top, he very slowly peeked his head over the side, but there was no sign of the Blood Pack. It was just another innocuous back alley. Garrus had carefully learned the telltale signs for the Blood Pack's gunrunning operations, and not a single one was present. _Something's wrong._ Ever since they had teamed up, Sidonis' intel had always been spot on. The specifics could get muddled every now and then, but this time, the entire target was missing. Garrus knew he was being played; he just didn't know why. Or by whom.

He opened the secure channel he and his team used. "Erash. Status."

"All quiet. Everyone is here except Sidonis, of course."

"Sidonis isn't there? What do you mean 'of course'?"

"He sent a message a little while ago. Said he was going to meet you in the Kenzo District to take down that Blood Pack operation."

"That's not what he told me." Garrus immediately started heading back to the hideout. "Stay sharp. Have Grundan Krul double check the perimeter alarms."

"Come on, Garrus. It's Sidonis; I'm sure it was just a communication error."

"Maybe. Can't be too careful." Sidonis was the first person he found for his squad. They had started the reign of Archangel together. But if Omega had taught him anything, it was that loyalty could be bought or broken at a moment's notice.

He rounded a corner and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the lack of damage to their headquarters. _Okay, I might be a little too paranoid. The others could be right; maybe it's time to take a break-_

The ground trembled from the explosion that ripped through the foundations of the structure. Garrus, who wasn't even across the bridge yet, lost his footing and fell into the wall. A war cry rang out behind him, and a surge of mercenaries sprang out from the side corridors and charged toward him. Before they reached him, the first line was felled by a swarm of iron spikes that shot down from the ceiling. As the horde paused briefly, put off by the gruesome pin cushions, a little package of C4 dropped neatly into the bundle, ripping apart a large amount of the remaining mercs. Garrus staggered to his feet while Grundan Krul and Sensat's traps panicked the attackers. As he sprinted across the bridge, a large gunship flew into view from somewhere underneath. He just managed to slip in the mangled remains of the front doors before the machine gun powered up enough to start firing at him, peppering the outside of the building.

He found the burned corpses of his team sitting at the main table. Some were only recognizable by the armor they wore or the weapons holstered on their backs. Erash, Monteague, Sensat, Vortash, Butler, and Mierin. All dead.

He didn't let himself begin to process their deaths. There were four other people he was responsible for, and he would be damned if they shared their comrades fates.

The gunship dropped off a unit of men next to a window, and they burst into the building. Garrus ducked behind a counter, not bothering to fire back just yet. _3…2…1…_

The sprinklers above the assailants drenched them in gasoline. They only had a split second to realize what was happening before they were doused in flame from the same sprinklers, bypassing their shields and roasting them alive inside their armor. Garrus smirked. _I told them the traps were a good idea._

He could hear the sounds of a firefight taking place upstairs. He ran up the steps, his blood running cold when the shouts turned into screams. He burst into the room just as Weaver went down under a hail of bullets from the gunship. Ripper and Melenis were lying motionless next to a blackened spot on the floor. Garrus didn't hesitate, letting his visor highlight the weak points of the gunship as he took aim with his rifle. His shot pierced through the fuel tank as the ship turned its attention on him, sending it into an unsteady spiral before it recovered. It limped back across the bridge, dripping fuel as it went, as a new wave of mercenaries mustered enough courage to attempt the crossing again. Garrus got to work, flitting so quickly between targets that he was shooting the next merc before the last one hit the ground. There was no cover for the idiots as he mowed them down, repelling their second attack with ease as they scrambled back out of the killing ground.

He hadn't seen Grundan Krul's body; he might still be alive. "Krul, where are you?"

A weak cough answered him. "I…collapsed the tunnels. Should slow them down, if they…think to come this way."

"I'm coming to get you."

"Don't bother. Damn varren. Got my arm. I'll be dead before you get here." He groaned. "Make them pay, Garrus."

"I've got medigel. We can stop the blood-loss. How far down the tunnel are you? Krul?" Garrus waited, but Krul never replied. For a brief instant, an impossibly heavy weight threatened to crush Garrus' throat, making it impossible to breathe. _They're all dead. All of them. This is my fault._ He shut it down, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand. He picked off a couple of vorcha poking their heads around the corner too far, settling down into his position. _Sidonis._ The only way these assholes could have gotten the drop on them like this would be through inside help. And he was the only one conveniently absent from both the comm channel and the base. He had drawn Garrus away on a fake mission. Garrus didn't know if the turian had been under duress, perhaps tortured and then killed for the information, but it didn't matter. He had given up his brothers-in-arms. If, by some miracle, Garrus lived through this, and Sidonis was still alive, he was as good as dead.

Every thirty seconds or so, another merc would either try to rush him or simply get sloppy and expose a part of their body. They were punished accordingly. During the third major assault, he noticed the variety of enemies coming at him and examined their armor. _Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood Pack…holy shit._ He had really kicked over a hornet's nest. These three mortal enemies working together: Shepard would have been proud of his diplomatic skills.

He couldn't leave his perch, not even to move the bodies of his friends. The slightest lapse in his attention might be the moment they decide to charge. He had the ability to hold them off indefinitely while they were on the other side of that bridge, but if they managed to close the distance, he would be overwhelmed quite shortly. _Thank the Spirits Grundan Krul closed off the access tunnels._

He clicked a setting on his visor, and his foot started tapping along to the bass of his favorite song. _This is going to be a long fight._

* * *

The sound of the sea crashed against the side of the blindingly white cliffs. The wind whipped over the top of the bluff, bringing the scent of the salty air and containing a bit of a bite as flecks of sand brushed against her face. Dark, larger-than-life clouds threatened in the distance, striking the ocean with flashes of light and sending faint rumbles across the waves. The sun had not yet disappeared behind the storm, creating a beautiful contrast in the sky.

Tali shook her hair as it streamed freely behind her, relishing the wind on her skin. She briefly wondered how she had ended up on Virmire once more, but the thought left her mind as quickly as it had come as she lost herself in the view. Footsteps crunched the rocks behind her, and she turned to see Shepard standing there as well.

"Hey beautiful."

She closed her eyes as his arms enfolded her, shielding her from the chill gusts. It was perfect. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

Shepard chuckled. "You know this is a dream, right?"

Tali looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I died. Remember?" He moved past her to the edge of the cliff, turning around and smiling sadly at her. "This isn't real."

"No…you came back. I know you did!"

"We both know that's impossible." He spread his arms out, his flesh becoming mottled with burns and flaking off in places. "Goodbye, Tali." Tali jumped forward, trying to snatch him as he fell, but she was too late, and his body plummeted into the water below.

She woke up screaming, thrashing the sheets violently as she attempted to stop his fall. The bed moved as the person beside her sat straight up. "What is it?" The voice demanded, clearly alarmed.

 _Shepard is here. See? It was just a dream._ Despite her self-assurances, Tali couldn't stop hyperventilating. She grasped Shepard's shoulders with trembling hands, again confirming that he was corporeal. No matter what she did, though, she couldn't shake the terrible feeling that none of this was real.

"Hey," Shepard said, setting aside the pistol in his hand and wrapping her up when he realized there was no immediate danger. "It's okay. You're awake now."

"You were gone…again." Just saying it aloud was enough to break her down. Shepard simply held her while she let the tears run their course, gradually calming down as her sense of reality reasserted itself.

"You know, I've had my fair share of nightmares." Shepard rubbed her back while he spoke. "I still dream about my family sometimes. But no matter how bad the dream is, it's still just a dream, and I'll be here to remind you of that every time you have one."

"It was horrible, John." The trail of water itched like mad on her cheeks; she loathed being unable to wipe her face. "I don't mean the nightmare. Those two years…I kept a count of how many days it had been since the crash. I almost updated it last night before I remembered that it didn't matter anymore. I was stuck in limbo, alone and unable to move on; the best I could do was try to forget myself in my work. I suffered for so long, but for you it's been less than a week. I'm not the same person I was back then. I don't know…"

Shepard squeezed her tightly. "I'm so sorry for what you had to go through. If it makes you feel better, dying was no picnic."

She couldn't bring herself to smile at Shepard's lighthearted jest at his own death. _I wonder what that was like. It can't have felt good._ "Do you…remember anything?"

His eyes darkened, and the creases in his skin became more prominent. "Yes. And no. I remember everything about the crash. I remember drifting through space, thinking that crashing into a planet had to be a bad way to go. Then I realized my suit was punctured. It takes a surprisingly long amount of time to suffocate when your suit is trying its hardest to keep you alive." His grip tightened unexpectedly, and the tendons in his neck were stretched taut as he clenched his jaw. "After that, there's nothing until I woke up on a hospital bed in a Cerberus lab."

Tali felt ashamed. She hadn't even thought about how traumatic those kind of memories would be for Shepard. "That's terrible."

"So is what you went through. Thinking I was dead for years and then suddenly having me pop back into your life." Shepard pushed her back and looked into her eyes. "We sort of rushed back into things. Like you said, it's only been a miniscule amount of time for me. So, if you need more space, I understand."

"It's not that." Tali struggled to convey what she was feeling. "You coming back is the best thing that I could have ever asked for. You've given me back my heart, but the rest of me has changed in the meantime. It's like they don't know how to work together anymore. I don't know if that makes sense, but I need time to heal. And I need you around to help me heal. Until that's finished, though, maybe we should slow down the more…um, physical parts of our relationship." The image of her almost taking off her mask made her wince; she would have almost certainly died without taking any precautions before unmasking. _I'm definitely not in a good enough place to pursue that kind of intimacy if I'm willing to kill myself for a kiss._ She would risk everything to share herself with Shepard when the time was right, but there was a difference between taking a risk and committing suicide on a whim.

"Whatever you need, Tali." She could see that her words had definitely hurt him, but she hoped he understood.

"I love you, John. I don't think anything could change that."

"I love you too."

Hearing him say that made butterflies jump in her stomach. She would never get tired of it. "That's why I want to get this right."

"I understand. I will do everything that I can to help." He gave her a small smile.

Knowing that she had him to support her made the task of getting better seem much less daunting. She gently pressed her helmet against his forehead. "Thank you."

* * *

They arrived in Omega a few hours later. With three possible recruits stationed on one spot, it seemed like the logical place to begin picking up people. Shepard stepped out of the shuttle and took a deep breath. "Wow. That is pungent."

Miranda carefully avoided the small puddle that Shepard's right boot had landed on without comment. Jacob wrinkled his nose at Shepard's foot. "I don't think that's water, Commander."

"Great." He shook off his boot as Tali hopped out next to Jacob, pointedly keeping someone between her and Miranda. "What do you think of the smell?"

She shrugged. "I turned off my olfactory sensors back on the ship. A lot of quarians end up on Omega during their Pilgrimage; they never have anything nice to say about it."

"I wonder why." Shepard stared down a couple of seedy figures, who quickly changed their course and scuttled away. _That's one perk of having a torn-up face._ "So, Miranda, where do we go first?"

EDI's voice replied over the comm. "There have been reports of a plague spreading through one of the wards where Dr. Solus was running a clinic. Chatter between the major mercenary groups on Omega contains many references to Archangel. I would suggest speaking with Aria T'Loak for more information about these matters. Zaeed Massani was informed of your arrival and should be waiting for you a few blocks away at this location." Shepard's omnitool pinged with a few updated markers for his map, each with a tiny label describing the point of interest

"Alright, that was pretty cool," he conceded. Tali sniffed disapprovingly. "Zaeed is fairly close, so I guess lets meet up with him first. I know that the Illusive Man already paid his fees, but I don't know if I want some random mercenary on board."

"He's willing to take the contract even though he knows about the suicidal odds. You won't find many who will do that. Don't be too picky, Shepard." Miranda led the way, weaving through the refuse ridden streets like she owned the place. _Maybe she's right. I guess we could use all the help we can get. Anyone willing to deal with Cerberus who isn't Cerberus themselves…does it really matter what they've done before?_ Shepard had never been outside of a rigidly run organization before joining the Spectres, and even then, he had still been an Alliance soldier. _I let Wrex on the team back then, and he was nothing more than a mercenary. We have to do whatever it takes to stop the Reapers. Or Collectors._ Even though they hadn't had any concrete evidence backing up the Reaper claim, Shepard could feel it in his bones that they were behind the attacks.

A batarian was huddled on the ground, clutching at his side, as a large man in yellow armor towered over him. The man was muttering to himself, seemingly ignoring the quivering mound of flesh next to him. The batarian's eyes bulged when he saw them heading his way. "Please…help me."

"Shut up." The man slammed his boot into the batarian's face before turning to meet them. A giant scar carved a path down the side of his face, rendering half of his mouth motionless. One of his eyes had a milky haze over it, and it didn't follow its twin as the other looked at Shepard. "You must be Shepard." The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "Nice face. Guess that's the price of coming back from the dead."

"You don't look too pretty yourself."

"And thank God for that. Zaeed Massani. I understand we have some business to take care of."

Shepard eyed the bloody-faced batarian. "Who's he?"

Zaeed crossed his arms. "A pain in the ass. Had to chase him halfway across the Terminus systems before he crawled his way into this shithole. Knew he'd come here; they always do in the end. Makes them easy to catch."

"What are you going to do to him?"

"I'm not going to do anything. I'm just the delivery boy. Someone wanted to meet our dear friend here very much. Even payed the extra fee to bring him in alive." Zaeed chuckled at the slight distaste on Shepard's face. "You knew I was a bounty hunter, right? This is what I do. Anyway, I expect your Illusive Man has told you about our little agreement."

"You mean the one where you get money for helping fight the Collectors?"

"No, I don't. I have a job I need to take care of, and you're going to help me, or I walk."

Miranda appeared to be as surprised by this request as Shepard, which was something. "He conveniently neglected to mention that. What's the job?"

"It's not a hit, if that's what you're worried about. Some bad people are holding the workers on a refinery hostage. We're going to take them out."

"You don't really seem like the type who would go out of his way to help random civilians."

Zaeed shrugged. "I'm not doing it for them. End of story."

The batarian suddenly surged to his feet and blew through them, sprinting for the end of the alley. "Goddammit," Zaeed grumbled, taking out his pistol and shooting the batarian in the leg. He went down with a cry of pain, holding his crippled limb. "I've got to take out the trash. It just so happens that the meet is taking place on Omega, so I'll be ready to go in a few hours. We got a deal or not?"

Miranda looked at Shepard for confirmation, and he gave a small nod. "We're in docking bay E-78. EDI, Mr. Massani will be boarding in a little while."

"Very well. I will inform the crew to be expecting him."

Zaeed strolled over and picked up the batarian, half dragging him down the street. "Catch you later, Shepard. Gonna be big goddamn heroes; can't wait."

"He's a character." Shepard watched the grizzled man disappear around the corner. "I hope the others aren't as colorful as he is."

Miranda gave him a quizzical look. "You haven't read all the dossiers, have you?"

"Just the ones for Omega. Why?"

She smiled. "Simple curiosity." Her heels clacked against the steel as she set off for their next destination. "Purgatory isn't too far away. Come on."

The residential feel to the area slowly transformed into a buzzing commercial district. Hundreds of merchants hawked their wares, shouting at any passerby foolish enough to make contact. Shepard noticed that the louder the merchant was, the more ridiculous the products they sold. He counted no less than three Mona Lisa's, each one with a hundred percent guarantee of authenticity. There were legitimate shops scattered around as well, though the owners quietly watched the crowd instead of screaming themselves hoarse. Shepard got the feeling they were more worried about thieves than attracting customers, as their stands always had a couple of visitors.

There was a huge line outside of the front entrance to Purgatory. "This is going to take forever," Shepard muttered. _Maybe we should just try to find Dr. Solus and Archangel on our own._

"Hey!" Shepard had already half drawn his rifle on reflex before he found the source of the shout. Four eyes blinked at him as the batarian sneered. "There's no need for that today, human. Aria wants to know what a dead Spectre is doing on Omega. Go see her. Now."

Jacob frowned. "That's convenient. Think it's a trap?"

Miranda shook her head. "Aria doesn't need to resort to trickery. If she wanted us dead, we would know it."

"If Aria wanted you dead, you would already by corpses." The batarian jerked his head at the elcor bouncer. "Let them through."

"Gruffly: move along."

The man at the front of the line scoffed as they passed him. "I've been waiting here for hours! Let me in, Aria's expecting me!"

"Cordially: shut up."

The tunnel leading into the club hummed with the music coming from inside. A group of batarians huddled together about halfway through, glancing their way shiftily. _Of course there are so many batarians on Omega. Probably filthy slavers, the lot._ Shepard took a deep breath. _No. I'm not that person anymore._

The group noticed his stares, and they stepped into their path. "What are you looking at, human?" The middle one puffed out his chest, while the other two flanked him.

Shepard got right in his face, making him flinch slightly. "A corpse if it doesn't back the fuck up."

"Oh yeah?" He cracked his knuckles, but his friends were looking nervous. "If you want a fight, we'll give you one."

Shepard forced down his extremely strong desire to knock the idiot into next Tuesday. "Do you see the amount of guns we're carrying?" Jacob and Tali casually put their hands on their weapons for emphasis, while Miranda looked bored. "Are you sure you want this?"

The middle guy looked ready to argue, but one of his friends tugged on his arm. "Let's get out of here." He glared at the other batarian, but they were both already heading for the exit.

"This isn't over," he growled, following his compatriots.

"Huzzah. You scared them off," Miranda said sarcastically.

Everything inside the club itself was bathed in a reddish tinge. Scantily clad asari were standing on see-through platforms above the main floor, writhing to the beat. Shepard saw Tali immediately start bobbing along with the music, clearly fighting the urge to dance. _She is adorable._

There were a few patrons that were enjoying the dance floor, but the majority were simply talking over a few beers or around a stripper. The entertainment was apparently a secondary amenity; business was the primary objective for most of the people in Purgatory.

It wasn't difficult to discern where Aria was. A large staircase at the back of the club led up to a platform situated higher than the asari entertainers. Standing there, overseeing the crowd, was another asari. Her eyes met Shepard's for the briefest of instants before returning to surveying the bar.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that that's Aria."

"Was it the dozen or so guards on the stairs that gave it away?" Miranda asked as she fell in behind Shepard.

Tali sidled over to him. "Why are you going on a tree branch?" she whispered. "What tree branch? Wait." She paused. "This is another idiom, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"What does it mean?"

"It's like saying I'm going to take a risk."

"But that wasn't a risky thing that you said."

"Yeah. That was just sarcasm."

"Ah."

The guards didn't say anything as they ascended the stairs, but they gripped their guns a little tighter. Shepard just finished climbing the last stair when Aria held up a hand. "That's close enough."

Her guards pointed their weapons at Shepard. Miranda, Tali, and Jacob all pulled out their own guns, creating a bit of a standoff. Shepard didn't bother with his gun; they hadn't needed to wait until they were this close for Aria to ambush them.

The lieutenant, another batarian, scanned each of them with his omnitool, ignoring the guns being pointed everywhere. "They're clean." Shepard almost laughed. _I'm guessing that wasn't scanning for firearms, then._ Aria did a strange wobble with her head, and the security forces all backed off a bit. She spun around and sat down on the long couch in one motion, gesturing at the other end. "Take a seat."

Shepard obliged, leaving his squad mates to stand awkwardly amidst the guards. "So you're Aria."

"Very astute of you." She picked up a glass and swished the contents around, picking apart Miranda, Tali, and Jacob with her cold stare.

"Do you run Omega or something?"

Aria laughed. "I AM Omega. I am the boss, CEO, queen if you're feeling dramatic. There is only one thing you need to keep in mind while you are here. A golden rule, if you will." She finally looked over at Shepard. "Don't. Fuck. With Aria."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "I take it you're feeling dramatic then."

A hint of a smile appeared on Aria's face. "Perhaps I am. Now, what is a dead Spectre doing in the Terminus Systems?"

Shepard decided to get straight to business. "I'm looking for Mordin Solus."

"The salarian doctor? I always liked him; never knew if he was going to heal you or shoot you." Aria waved a hand vaguely to the right. "He's in that infested zone in the wards, trying to create a cure for the plague. Good luck getting in."

"A plague?"

"Don't worry; from what I hear, humans are immune."

"That seems odd."

"Yes." Aria snapped her fingers and pointed at a turian roughhousing one of the strippers downstairs. He was immediately incapacitated by her security and tossed over an elcor's back, who methodically trudged its way to the doors. "Anything else?"

"I'm also looking for Archangel."

Aria snorted. "You and half of Omega."

"What do you mean?"

"He's pissed off a lot of people. Some of them have decided that he's become too much of a hassle. Apparently, the major merc bands finally found his base and have him pinned down. He's giving them hell, though. It's been two days, and the recruiter downstairs is still looking for more freelancers." Aria sounded like she enjoyed imparting all of this information to Shepard; maybe she was flexing her power. "In any case, my curiosity is sated. Do try not to cause too much trouble while you're here; you do not want to be my enemy."

"Noted." They left Aria's area and gathered around the bar.

"What's our next move, Commander? Are we going after the doctor?" Jacob tried to act like he was focused on the mission, but his eyes kept darting to the dancers above their heads.

"It sounds to me like Archangel is in trouble. If we wait, he might not be around later." Shepard looked around for the recruiter Aria had mentioned. He wasn't hard to find, standing next to a room with a glowing sign that read 'Freelancers Welcome'. "Time to go be this Archangel's guardian angel."

Tali shook her head in disappointment. "That was corny, even for you."


	8. Chapter 8: Unexpected Encounter

**Hey everyone! Thanks for being patient; as I'm sure it was for many of you, last week was a mess. As a fair warning, the length of my chapters going forward will vary from week to week more like they did in the first story. This, unfortunately, will be one of the shorter ones, but I'd rather give you a short, put-together chapter than a longer one that wasn't very thought out. I have a decent amount of the next one written and was planning on posting it all together, but it doesn't feel right yet. I apologize! Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Garrus rolled his head around, trying to get rid of the giant knots in his shoulders. The bridge in front of him was almost completely covered in bodies, a testament to the last forty-eight hours he'd spent keeping the mercenaries at bay. He sighed, fighting against the heavy weight that threatened to shut his eyes. _I'll have to make a break for it soon._ He'd hoped he could thin their numbers enough to try a feasible escape, but he wouldn't be able to keep his focus for much longer. _If I'm going out, it won't be because I fell asleep. I'll make them all regret the day they heard the name Archangel._

He knew his odds weren't good after five minutes of holding this spot, but by this point, any hope of survival had left him long ago. The mercs seemed determined to finish him off. For every one he sniped, they brought in two more from their reserves or from the freelancers. _Speaking of…_ He saw some movement as a group of new arrivals scurried across the barricades. He almost always managed to pick one off of the new groups. His scope followed the frontrunner, waiting for the form to make it to the small gap between the makeshift barrier and the wall…

He froze as the chest plate came into view. _No fucking way._ The gleaming N7 was unmistakable. _He's actually back. I wonder if Liara knows her gamble paid off._ As soon as he thought that, he saw the asari come out behind Shepard, followed by Tali and Wrex. Shepard gave a cheery wave to him in the building before turning around and tossing a variety of explosives into the side passages. Garrus raised a hand hesitantly. This seemed too good to be true. _Why are they all together again? How did they know I was here, or who I am? Or even where I was perched; the mercs still haven't pinpointed my position, and they've been at it for two days._ Garrus' heart sank as he watched his friends mowing through the enemy. It was definitely too good to be true.

He jerked up, panic surging through him as he realized he'd drifted off. A squad of freelancers had made it almost halfway across the bridge, sprinting for the safety of the overhang. He didn't have time to aim, relying on instinct as he swiveled between the targets at lightning speed. He frowned at his handiwork; only two of them were clean headshots. One was gurgling his last breaths as he struggled to continue living despite the sizeable hole in his chest, but Garrus was most upset by the sight of an asari dragging herself away, her leg sprawled behind her oozing blood as she pushed through the corpses. _Not even a body shot?_ He was disappointed with himself. He put the back of her tentacle head in his crosshairs and ended her crying with a simple squeeze. His gun hissed in protest at the last shot, and he pulled back the slide to expel the spent heatsink and a strong blast of hot air.

 _I guess I'll need to make my move sooner than I thought._ Garrus gritted his teeth as he glanced at his omnitool. As much as he was dreading this conversation, it was time to stop putting off that call. Whatever disagreements they'd had in the past, he didn't want to die without talking to his father one last time.

* * *

The transport car zipped through the sprawling tunnels, taking little heed of the other cars as it sped towards their destination. In most cases, the other drivers quickly slipped out of view whenever they noticed the Blue Suns sigil emblazoned on the side. Tali glared at their oblivious chauffer. _No good thugs. At least we'll be taking them out shortly._

Jacob was showing Shepard how to properly dismantle a pistol that used thermal clips. While smashing the side of that kid's weapon outside the recruitment center had done the trick, he had left that encounter quite irate and insisted that someone walk him through it on the ride over. There were only a few extra steps involved, and Shepard had taken Jacob's pistol apart and put it back together twice by the time they landed.

The Blue Suns soldier looked impressed when they stepped out of the skycar. "Finally, they send me someone who looks like they can fight." He gave Tali a questioning glance. "Is she with you? I didn't know quarians could fight with the whole suit thing."

Shepard chuckled. "Trust me, that quarian could kill you without breaking a sweat if she wanted to." Tali bit back her scathing retort, mollified by Shepard's praise.

"If you say so. I'm just here to direct the freelancers." He pointed down the alley behind him. "Archangel's holed up in his hideout back that way. There's only one way in, so we've got him trapped. However, it makes it extremely easy for him to stop our assaults. Anyone who steps foot on the bridge is dead meat."

Shepard quirked an eyebrow. "I'm guessing we're the dead meat, then? I hope there's more of a plan than use freelancers until he runs out of ammo."

"There is. On this next wave, you will be distracting him on the bridge while we tunnel through underneath. We've almost broken through, so another assault should do it."

"That's suicide," Jacob said.

The Blue Suns merc shrugged. "It's what you signed up for. You look like you can handle yourselves; just live through it, and you'll get your payment. Report to Sergeant Cathka. He'll be repairing Tarak's gunship near the front barricade."

"Will do." Shepard's brow furrowed as they moved along. "How are we going to let Archangel know we're on his side? I don't want us to get shot on our way to rescue him."

"Shooting the other mercenaries in the back should clue him in," Miranda said.

"Good point."

Their path led them through a small room where a group of Eclipse soldiers were holed up. A sour looking salarian was muttering something to the people seated around him at the table, sparing them a scathing glance before continuing his conversation. Shepard made to continue on, but Miranda tripped and banged into a stack of crates near the wall, knocking into an asari.

"Watch it!" The Eclipse merc spat, shoving Miranda off of her.

"My apologies," Miranda said shortly, quickly exiting the small space behind Shepard.

Jacob smirked at the other Cerberus operative. "I don't think I've ever seen you take a wrong step until now, Miranda. Nice to know you're still human."

She gave him a frosty look. "You still haven't." She showed them the datapad she had tucked behind her. "We might be able to get some valuable intel on the Eclipse from this. How many troops they have here, what other operations they might be running." She handed it to Tali. "No doubt you'll be faster at cracking into that than I."

Tali was surprised that Miranda would make such a concession, but it was likely true. She bypassed the security and scanned the information for anything of interest. "Oh."

"What is it?"

"There are a couple of mentions pertaining to Archangel, but I think Aria might like to see this. It looks like the mercs are thinking of throwing a coup." She let the others read the email on the screen.

Miranda looked satisfied. "This should help cement our relationship with Aria. Perfect."

"I have performed my own analysis of the data," EDI chimed in on their comms. "There should be a storage unit nearby where the Eclipse are keeping their heavy mechs. Disabling those now would raise your chances for success."

Tali's mouth turned into an evil grin. "Oh, we don't need to disable them."

With EDI's direction, they quickly found the room with the mechs. A guard was checking the machines as they entered the small chamber, and she turned around when the door opened. "Hey, you're not supposed to-"

Shepard lunged forward, closing the distance between them and driving the side of his hand into her exposed neck. Her face contorted into surprise and rage as her fingers clasped at her dysfunctional throat. Her expression morphed into fear as air refused to enter her lungs, and after a little bit she stopped struggling, her eyes glazing over.

Tali grimaced but didn't say anything, stepping over the body to inspect the YMIR mech. "I should be able to reprogram the system's targeting mechanics so that when they activate it, it will attack them instead."

"Perfect. Jacob, stay here and make sure no one interrupts her. I'm going to go and see if we can find anything else to sabotage with Miranda." Shepard and Miranda exited the room, leaving Tali with the other Cerberus soldier and just a twinge of jealousy. _Don't be ridiculous. Would you rather have her stuck in here with you?_ Despite her rationalization, she attacked her omnitool with slightly more force than usual as she hacked into the YMIR mech.

Jacob eyed her wrist as she worked. "So, what exactly are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I get that you are hacking into that heavy mech, but how are you doing that? How does it work?"

Tali cocked her head at him. "Do you have any background in cyber security?"

"No. That's why I'm asking."

She let out a small laugh. "Well…basically, it requires authentication to modify the targeting parameters. In the middle of a fight, I have a program that can cause it to malfunction for a few seconds before it corrects itself, but I need more time in order to officially change its targets."

Jacob nodded. "Okay, so how do you do that?"

She shook her head. "You won't understand a word that comes out of my mouth if I get technical. I run a few programs that I have built, it does some stuff, and the heavy mech thinks that I am Jaroth."

"Yeah, but-"

The door reopened, causing Jacob to whip around with a start, but it was only Shepard. He came into the room looking a little harried. "Archangel nailed me right in the shoulder. If it hadn't been a concussive round, I'd have probably lost my arm. I think that means he knows, but…let's be careful. Ready?"

"I would be if someone would stop pestering me," Tali said crossly. "Did you manage to get anything else done?"

"No. Ran into Tarak, though, leader of the Blue Suns here: he is one angry batarian."

"I thought that was every batarian," Jacob said with a snort.

Tali stood up and brushed off her knees. "There. Good to go."

"Alright, let's meet up with Cathka."

They found the batarian sergeant cranking away underneath a giant gunship, the occasional spark flying out as he worked. A group of mercs stepped out to intercept them, though their swaggering gait faltered when they saw how well-armed Shepard's group was. A simple "Cathka?" was all they needed to say to gain access to the sergeant. He slid out when he saw them approaching, his eyes hidden behind a black visor.

"Sergeant Cathka," he said ill-temperedly, standing up and making his visor see through again. His face changed from irritation to mild interest when he took them in. "You must be the group Salkie mentioned. Good timing; we're about to start." He walked over to his console, carelessly dropping the welder he was holding to the ground and fishing out a cigar from his stash.

"We were told to come see you." Shepard glanced at the gunship they were standing under. "Are you going to be providing support with this?"

Cathka laughed. "Hell no. I don't get paid enough to go on the front lines. I just fix Tarak's toy and come up with the plans." He lit his cigar and took a long pull, enveloping the air around Shepard in smoke as he breathed out. "Besides, she's not ready. Archangel blasted her out of the sky last time, but I'll have her back in shape in a bit."

Shepard didn't react to the smoke cloud, resolutely remaining in the fumes and refusing to cough. Tali rolled her eyes.

"The infiltration team is about to give the signal, so if you have any questions, better ask them quickly."

Shepard opened his mouth, but before anything could come out, an alarm went off on Cathka's console. He gave it a quick glance before throwing his cigar in the trash without extinguishing it. "Never mind. Time to go, freelancer. Try not to die too quickly; the other team needs time to tunnel in." He radioed someone and gave them the signal, dismissing them with a flick of his head and returning to the back of the ship. "Now, where did I put that…hm."

Shepard looked at the rest of his team questioningly. Miranda and Jacob gave curt nods, while Tali shrugged. Shepard pulled out his combat knife and thrust it into the base of Cathka's skull, twisting it once before ripping it back out. He dropped without a sound, his body lying next to the sparking welder he had been looking for. Shepard cleaned his blade on the sergeant's clothes. "Maybe that will keep this gunship on the ground. I'm amazed Archangel managed to take it out on his own."

They returned to the main corridor, falling in behind the last group of freelancers as they climbed the final barricade between them and the bridge. Tali gaped at the grizzly sight that awaited them on the narrow street; she could barely see the floor under the pile of bodies. _This guy is really, really good._ As she dropped over the defenses, the turian directly in front of her collapsed as his head turned into a pulpy mess. _I hope he knows we're on his side._

Despite the deadly efficiency of Archangel, the sheer number of freelancers proved too much for him, and a few scurried into the safety of the building. Shepard made a fist and pointed at the backs of the others. Jacob pulled a couple of unlucky mercs back with his biotics at the same time that Miranda pushed them with hers. Bones snapped as their bodies were torn in opposing directions, spinning grotesquely in the air for a few moments before coming to a rest. Tali sent out Chatika, watching with satisfaction as the little drone sent a bolt of electricity into an unsuspecting merc. She rushed forward, leaping off of a disabled LOKI mech and blasting a batarian in the back. Shepard cackled as he aimed his grenade launcher, happily watching as three small explosions sent some freelancers flying. By the time the freelancers realized they were being attacked on two fronts, most of them were dead, and they made short work of the few holed up in Archangel's base.

The scene inside was certainly less battle-scarred than the bridge, but scorch marks from several explosions marred the walls on the main floor. One of the rooms on the left was completely covered in ash and burns, and Tali could see a few humanoid figures in the debris. They maneuvered through the atrium, quickly climbing the stairs and approaching Archangel's vantage point on the second floor.

Shepard pulled up short just outside the door. "I would say since none of us are dead that this Archangel knows we are on his side, but all the same, be careful. Keep your weapons drawn; if he starts shooting, try to incapacitate him, but if it comes down to it, your lives take priority over his." He moved through the entrance, and they all trained their guns on Archangel's back. The blue on his armor was surprisingly vibrant considering his vigilante activities, though it had seen some action. It had scratches and scrapes in various places, speaking of the fierce firefights it's owner had endured. Archangel didn't react to their presence, remaining trained on the bridge with his rifle.

Shepard lowered his own assault weapon a little upon the ambivalent reception. "Archangel?"

The vigilante raised a finger to indicate he'd heard him, but remained concentrated. A few seconds later, a loud pop resonated, and he let out a satisfied grunt. He turned around, his movements extremely stiff, and it appeared that it took some effort to remove his helmet. Tali gasped as a familiar turian face greeted them, one of his eyes covered by a tactical visor. "Shepard."

The two-toned voice brought Tali back instantly to her time on the Normandy, and her and Shepard spoke in unison with the same sounds of shock and delight.

"Garrus?!"


	9. Chapter 9: Guardian Angel

**Hey everyone! I will be switching my posting day to Sunday, as it will be more convenient for various reasons that I don't need to bore you with. I am so sorry for the scheduling mess this story has been for the past few posts, but I will get back on track if it's the last thing I do! As always, thank you for sticking with it and for giving me your thoughts on the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

"This is Castis."

Garrus had heard somewhere that the first thing you forget about someone is the sound of their voice. Hearing his dad's gruff tones for the first time in years was like a blow to the stomach, flooding his mind with memories of his childhood. While he constantly thought about his mother's deteriorating health and he kept in somewhat strained contact with his sister, he had never been hit with this level of nostalgia before.

"Hello?"

He felt a strong urge to drop his façade and ask his father for help. He had always shouldered his responsibility stoically, never asking for pity or aid even in the most difficult of circumstances. But as he lined up another shot, he felt the desperation of his situation almost take control of him. _Get a hold of yourself. There's nothing he can do for you anyway._ He exhaled slowly, pulled the trigger, and silently regained his composure.

"Hey Dad."

"Garrus?" Castis paused as their conversation was interrupted by some stray fire from one of the guards on the barricade. "What's going on?"

"Nothing to worry about," Garrus said with forced levity. "Just doing some target practice." He shot the offending gunman down, reminding the mercenaries just who they were dealing with.

Garrus knew Castis didn't believe him from the long stretch of silence that followed. He coughed as he struggled to think of how to begin. "Listen, I uh...I know that I have a strong opinion, and that we haven't always seen eye to eye. I didn't mean for things to get so bad between us." He waited, but his father didn't respond. "I just wanted to say that, well, I have some regrets." _I can't even force out the words I'm sorry. Stubborn idiot._ He sighed as he focused on an exposed target coming from one of the side passages. "I wish we had more time to talk about this."

"You listen to me, son," Castis commanded brusquely. "Remember what I taught you. As long as you have one bullet left, you can take care of this target practice. Finish the job. Once you're done, you can come on home to Palaven. We have a lot to sort out."

Garrus blinked several times. _Not again._ He hit himself in the leg and shook his head, but when he looked through the scope again, he still saw that familiar shape, followed closely by a Cerberus operative. _Wait a minute…that's the same woman Liara met with._ Garrus let out a slow laugh. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for listening. I have to go now. Don't worry though; I think I found my way out of this."

* * *

Garrus surveyed the group in front of him, unable to hide his disbelief. If it wasn't for Tali's presence, he would have been highly suspicious that this Shepard wasn't some trick. However, Tali knew him better than anyone; if she were here with him, then he must be the real deal. He felt a pang of guilt as he recalled how utterly devastated Tali had been after Shepard died. Even though Garrus wasn't involved and had argued to tell Tali about Liara's gamble, he still found it hard to look her in the eye as she and Shepard rushed over to him. After all, he had kept Liara's secret in the end.

"Damn. Never thought I would see your ugly ass again," Garrus said to Shepard.

"That's the second person to say that to me. Is there something I should know? Tali?"

"Just that I love you for who you are on the inside," she quipped. She threw her arms around Garrus, her hands not even close to touching due to his bulky armor. "It's so good to see you!"

"Yeah. You too." It was like a spark had been reignited in Tali. There was an edge to her words now that only suffering can bring, something Garrus understood all too well, but this was a completely different person to the shell he had last seen. _It all worked out in the end. Liara can tell them if she wants, but there's no reason for me to bring it up._ He wasn't sure if Tali would or even could forgive Liara if she found out, but he knew it would go over much easier if Liara was the one to say it.

Shepard offered a hand, pulling Garrus up to his feet. "So, Archangel huh? How did that happen?"

"Ah, you know. It's just a name some of the locals gave me for…all my good deeds." _It sounds stupid when I say it out loud._ "But, please, it's just Garrus."

"What, you thought I was going to start calling you Archangel?"

Garrus shrugged. "You never know. You could have been star-struck to meet the legendary Archangel; I wouldn't have held it against you."

Shepard laughed. "Wow, being a vigilante hasn't gone to your head at all, has it?"

"Don't worry. I'm sure yours is still big enough for the both of us."

Tali gave a little sniff. "I know we need to talk about the guys trying to kill us, but…I've missed this. Almost makes me feel like this is just another mission from the old days."

"With some extra baggage." Garrus glanced at the two tagalongs.

"Right." Shepard pointed at the two Cerberus operatives. "Jacob, Miranda, Garrus."

"It's a real pleasure to meet you," Jacob said. "I've read your file. Impressive work."

Garrus looked at Shepard. "Did he just try to flatter me? That felt like unnecessary flattery."

Jacob chuckled. "Just stating facts."

Garrus smirked. "At least he can take a joke." He took in Miranda's stony visage which had remained unchanged throughout the entire exchange. "This other one doesn't look as friendly." She didn't rise to Garrus' bait, simply leaving him with a cold stare. "See?"

"This meet and greet can wait until we get out of here," Miranda said testily.

"You're right," Garrus conceded. He turned his attention back to the bridge, letting the tactical part of his mind take the reigns once more. "They haven't sent anyone else yet, but they should know that the first wave failed by now. No doubt they saw you four lighting up the other mercs, so they must realize I'm not alone anymore. My guess is they'll hold back for a while and reassess before making any more advances."

"They sent another team into the tunnels underneath your base to try and get through the blockage," Jacob informed him.

"Damnit. I guess they had to start using their brains eventually." He zoomed in with his visor, but he couldn't see any movement near the barricades. "In that case, they'll probably assault us again soon to distract us from the second force. I haven't had the luxury to close off the access tunnels, but now we have some extra people-"

As he said that, the building rumbled slightly with a distant explosion.

"Hurry Shepard. I'll hold them off here." Garrus saw a flurry of movement at the far end of the bridge.

"Tali, stay here with Garrus. Take out any that get through until we return."

"There should be plenty of those," Garrus said, shooting into the horde pouring over the bridge. "Get going!"

Garrus was forced to take cover as the mercs locked onto his position, sending a couple of rockets his way. He continuously moved between the windows, never staying in one place for too long as he thinned the numbers. He noticed that the only insignia pasted on the enemy armor was Eclipse. "Seems like they aren't getting along all that well; hopefully that will continue."

"Yeah." Tali ducked behind a wall just as a spray of bullets tore down the hallway. She clicked something on her omnitool, and a purple orb appeared behind the assailants. While they were being electrocuted, she whipped around the doorframe and sprinted towards the mercs at the top of the stairs, sliding underneath the few return shots she received and neatly dispatching them. She crouched beside the railing, trading shots with the Eclipse on the main landing. With her controlling the bottleneck and Garrus letting very few through his kill zone, the battle stabilized some from the chaotic mess at the beginning.

"First one closed," Shepard said through the radio.

"Great. Two to go. Anyone make it through down there?"

"A few, but nothing we can't handle. How are you holding up?"

"Well enough." Garrus looked up from his scope when he saw the huge mech being pivoted onto the bridge with a crane. "Uh oh. They just brought in the heavy mechs. Might need to pick up the pace."

"Damnit! I wanted to be there when they used it!"

"Um…why?" Garrus asked, perplexed. He heard Tali laugh over the channel.

"You'll see. That problem should take care of itself."

He watched as the mech powered on, its various parts rotating around as it performed its startup checks. The light changed from green to red, indicating it had detected enemy presence. _Here we go._

It took one of its giant arms and swept an entire squad of Eclipse mercs off the bridge like a broom. The YMIR mech mowed down the Eclipse forces from behind, similar to Shepard's entrance just a few minutes prior. A rocket trooper launched a missile into its leg, turning its attention on the opposing side of the bridge. With new forces effectively stymied for the moment, Garrus pulled back to Tali's position and helped finish off the mercs and mechs who remained in his base.

"That should buy us some time to catch our breath." Garrus glanced at the YMIR mech as it wreaked havoc into the fortifications. "Was that your doing?"

"You know me so well." Tali tended to a wound in her leg as she checked in with the others. "How's it coming?"

They heard gunfire coming through the other channel as Jacob answered. "Just now shutting the second. Blood Pack is really putting on the heat."

"So that's where they went," Garrus said. "I wonder what's keeping the Blue Suns from joining the fray? I know they don't like each other, but this whole operation proves they don't like me more. It makes sense to push with the others."

"They were working on that gunship; maybe they're trying to get it flying again before helping out. Shepard took out the engineer, though, so they probably won't have the best of luck." Tali finished ministering to her injury and looked at Garrus. "You know you've got a piece of shrapnel in your side, right?"

Garrus looked at the metal shard embedded in his armor, noticing the pain for the first time. "Would you look at that. You shouldn't have told me, now it hurts."

"Poor thing." She inspected the area. "It doesn't look very deep at all. Some medigel should easily fix it once we pull it out."

Garrus tugged it from his body without flinching, sealing his angry flesh with the miracle gel. "That probably gave me some horrible disease."

He could see Tali's eyes lock onto his face. "Oh no, what a nightmare," she said in a deadpan.

"Right. I didn't mean…erm." Garrus struggled to think of a way to dig himself out of this hole.

"You didn't think I was actually offended, did you?" Tali asked, pushing his shoulder playfully. "Come on, Garrus." An ear-splitting roar echoed from the bridge, and Garrus jerked his head around to find the source. The YMIR mech was self-destructing in glorious fashion, turning into a small nuclear bomb and melting away the last of the barricades.

He got back on his feet and clenched his jaw as he mentally prepared himself for the fight once more. "Looks like our break is over."

As he set up his rifle, he noticed a salarian stride out onto the bridge wearing particularly fancy-looking armor. "Jaroth? What the hell is he thinking?" Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Garrus quickly zoomed in and fired at the salarian. He was astonished to see Jaroth's shields consume his bullet, and the salarian grinned as he charged the base. Twice, three times the bullet vanished into his blue aura, but the fourth caught him in the neck as he was about to enter the fort. Garrus listened to his final gurgles with satisfaction; he'd been hunting this vermin for far too long. The rest of the Eclipse abandoned their assault when they saw Jaroth go down, though that didn't stop Garrus from taking out a few during their retreat.

"Arrogant little shit, thinking his shields could protect him for that long."

"Are you talking to me?" Tali called out. "I can't hear you very well from over here."

"It's nothing." _I have to remember I have companions again; no more talking to yourself out loud, Garrus._

Heavy panting crackled in through the radio, followed by a rather wheezy Shepard. "Third one done. Heading back."

"Are you alright?" Tali was already halfway down the stairs as she asked the question. "I'm coming to help."

"We're good. Just got punched by a krogan; I'll be fine."

Garrus barely heard her mutter "You better be," and she returned to her post. He patched in to a personal channel, as the distance didn't make for good conversation and he didn't want to leave the bridge unguarded.

"How are you doing, Tali?"

"I'm fine. It was just one bullet, and the seals all clamped properly."

"I meant about Shepard. How long has he been back?"

"Oh." Her long pause was telling, but she pushed on in a normal tone. "Only a few days. We ran into each other completely by accident right after he woke up, actually. I'm just glad he's alive."

"I'm sure. You weren't exactly doing all that well the last time I saw you." Garrus glanced over his shoulder at Tali, who was making her drone dance around in circles.

"What about you?" she asked, avoiding the topic. "Judging by the massacre on the bridge, this can't have been easy for you."

 _That's the truth._ Garrus let his eyes fall shut for a few seconds, relishing the darkness before forcing them open again. He was so tired, both physically and mentally, but more than anything, more than his survival or the arrival of his friends or even his family, the thought of Sidonis walking away from this a free man kept him alert and focused. He would get out of this mess, and he would make that traitor pay.

He was saved from answering by a boom that resonated from the bottom floor. "Archangel!" The krogan's voice rumbled with the strength of a thunderclap. Garrus ran to the window overlooking the interior and saw Garm with a pack of his goons flanking him. The battlemaster grinned when he saw Garrus. "He's mine." Garm barely registered Tali's shotgun blast, pointing at her dismissively. The other krogan roared and charged up the stairs, and Tali scrambled back as quickly as she could. Before Garrus could come to her aid, Garm set his feet and took a huge leap, sheathing himself in a purple haze as he flew an impossible distance directly for Garrus on the second landing. Caught off-guard, Garrus couldn't dive out of the way in time, and he felt Garm's shoulder crash into his chest, sending him sprawling. His gun clattered away as he tumbled into a couch, knocking the furniture over as he sailed across the room. He hit the ground hard, his breath escaping him for a few seconds. He rolled over onto his side, his fingers clasping the grip of his pistol. He got off four shots before Garm reached him, kicking him with enough force to throw him into the wall. Garm's foot connected with the hole in his armor, and any wind he had managed to recuperate vanished.

"Not so tough now, are you?" He was jerked up by one arm and held dangling in front of the angry krogan. "In a fair fight, I win every time." Stars danced in Garrus' eyes as Garm's forehead connected with his own. "Pitiful."

Garrus coughed a couple of laughs out. "Who said anything about fighting fair?" he rasped. He jabbed the small taser he had pulled from his belt into Garm's big, red eye. He yelled, dropping Garrus and clawing at his face. Garrus crawled to his rifle while the krogan was distracted and flipped around, aiming at Garm's chest. Garm stomped his way over to Garrus as he took shot after shot, shrugging off each attack like a gnat.

"COME ON!" Garm pounded his chest as Garrus continued to unload, blood coming out of his mouth. He crushed Garrus' arm beneath his foot, but Garrus immediately pulled out a knife with his free hand and started stabbing the leg relentlessly. The back of Garm's fist almost knocked him senseless, and when his vision unblurred, he saw the end of a large shotgun pointed at his head. "Pathetic," Garm spat.

A spray of blood coated Garrus' face, blinding him. Shortly after, a huge weight pinned him to the ground, and he heard Garm rattle a few last, desperate breaths before ceasing forever. "Can someone get this guy off me?" he groaned.

The body shifted just far enough for him to scoot out from under it before Jacob and Tali let it fall back to the ground. "That's one heavy son of a bitch. Good thing we came back when we did."

"I had it under control," Garrus said nonchalantly as he collected his weapons.

"I'd hate to see what you'd consider out of control." Shepard grinned. "Don't go dying on me now; you're the whole reason we came here."

"I'll do my best." Garrus limped over to his sniper perch, leaning against the frame for support. "That should take care of the Blood Pack and the Eclipse. If we go now, I think we can break through the Blue Suns."

"Alright, let's do it." Shepard's face blanched. "Look out!"

Garrus turned just in time to see a flaming trail hurtling straight towards him before his entire world was consumed by white fire. The pain was indescribable. The last thing he felt was the flesh on his face melting off of his bones before everything went dark.


	10. Chapter 10: Twinge of Envy

**Hey everyone! This one is definitely shorter than most of mine, but the flow simply felt right for it. The holidays should not affect my posts this time around, but just in case they do, I hope you enjoy yours! Now, on to the chapter!**

* * *

Chakwas was busy inspecting Garrus' face when Tali walked into the medbay. Jacob was lying in a nearby cot, a large bandage wrapped around his abdomen. He gave Tali a small wave as she entered.

"You came all the way up here from Engineering just to see me? I'm touched."

"Oh…yeah. How are you?"

Jacob laughed as Tali awkwardly sidled over to him. "I'm kidding. I know how you feel about Cerberus, and frankly, I'm not entirely sure you're wrong. Plus, we've known each other for less than a week. Go check on your friend."

Tali decided that maybe Jacob was alright. "Still, you took a pretty bad hit. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, that gunship tore up my insides pretty good, but it was nothing the Doc couldn't fix. Just need some bedrest."

She nodded, patting his foot once in an attempt at sympathy before turning her attention to Garrus. Chakwas smiled at her as she approached the bed. "Hello, Tali."

"How's he doing?" The right side of Garrus' face was one giant bundle of bandages and wrappings. Chakwas pulled her table away, taking off the surgical gloves.

"He'll be fine, though there will be some scarring. He probably won't wake for another day or two." Her smile fell off as her eyes zeroed in on Tali's leg. "Sit."

"No, I'm fine. It's already been taken care of-"

"Sit," Chakwas repeated, pointing at a stool and cutting of Tali's protests in a tone that brooked no argument. She begrudgingly obeyed, extending her leg so Chakwas could examine it.

"Honestly, you're getting to be as bad as Shepard." She prodded the wound, eliciting a small gasp from Tali. "I do not care how small of an injury you sustain, you should let me take a look at it. Especially you."

"Yes ma'am," Tali said meekly.

Chakwas put a small container around Tali's calf, creating a seal and allowing her to work on Tali's wound safely. "You don't have to worry about making me too busy or toughing it out so I can deal with the more serious cases. This is my job, and I like to think I am rather good at it, but I cannot do it if you do not let me." Tali could hear the worry behind Chakwas' lecture and didn't take her fussing to heart.

"Aha." Chakwas dropped something into the sliding box and pulled it out, showing Tali the tiny scrap of metal. "If that had been left in there, you would have been sick for weeks."

That wasn't actually true, as Tali's own cleaning process had eliminated any possibility of an allergic reaction to any remaining foreign contaminant, but she didn't feel the need to share this information with the doctor. Chakwas raised an eyebrow as she started finishing up. "So, it takes a gunshot to get you to come visit me here?"

"No! I…we saw each other around and talked some. I didn't even think to." She hung her head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be silly. I know you have more important matters to attend to than an old woman's feelings." Chakwas leaned in close to Tali, almost brushing her nose against Tali's mask, and stared at her without speaking.

"Um." Tali cleared her throat. "Yes?"

"Your new visor looks a sight better than your old one the last time I saw it." She knocked on the glass once with her knuckle, making Tali jump with the surprisingly loud _thunk_ it made. Chakwas nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent. Now, I'll stop bothering you and let you get on with your business." She glanced at Garrus. "I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Thanks, doctor." Tali got back to her feet. "I am glad you're here; I don't think I could trust someone from Cerberus to take the same care you do."

"I suspect that's why they brought me on." With a last smile, Chakwas glided over to Jacob and pulled out a rather wicked looking needle. Jacob pleaded silently for Tali to do something, but she simply smirked and left without looking back.

When she stepped onto the Engineering deck, she saw a box floating outside of the viewing platform to the cargo hold. She stared at it for a few seconds before it dropped out of sight. Within the cargo hold itself, Miranda was gesturing at the crate while Shepard drank from a bottle of water, drenched in sweat.

Curious, she hopped back into the elevator and came out on the fifth floor. The new crewmember was leaning against the wall next to the door when Tali arrived. He jerked his head in their direction. "You gotta watch this. It's fuckin' hilarious." His words emerged like gravel from a grinder, and Tali's translator had difficulty deciphering the mess. His accent was faintly reminiscent of Miranda's actually.

"I'm Tali. Zaeed, right?"

He grunted in reply. From this angle, she could barely distinguish the edge of his terrible scar. _That looks like a story and a half._ "I thought Shepard was supposed to be a goddamn legend. He's bloody awful."

Tali's back stiffened. "What do you mean? Shepard is the best soldier in the galaxy."

Zaeed gave her a sidelong glance. "Easy there. No need to get your panties in a twist. Sounds like someone's already doing that for you, though."

Tali blushed furiously and had no response, flustered into speechlessness by his lewd yet surprisingly insightful comment. He cackled through his leer, shaking his head. "Anyways, just watch and tell me I'm wrong."

She did so, deciding that silently viewing Shepard's training session was preferable to continuing a conversation with this man. Miranda sighed with impatience as Shepard wiggled his fingers fruitlessly at the box in front of him. "Stop doing that," she barked. "The motions you make are simply a by-product of harnessing your biotics. There is no secret movement to create a wave of force or to make something float. Your mind is where the connection occurs." She moved beside him and grabbed his arms, forcing them back down to his sides. "Now, close your eyes."

"How is that going to help?" Shepard snapped.

"Just do it." He did, though not without one more reproachful glare at Miranda. She stepped even closer to him, her body brushing against his as she spoke. "Breathe," she commanded, placing a hand on his chest and making him take deep breaths. "Reach out with your mind and feel the box. Imagine it perfectly in your head, what it looks like, what it's made out of. Once it appears solid enough to touch, just…push it." As she said that, she gently brought his arm back up, aligning it with the crate in a loose, relaxed line. Shepard exhaled slowly, then took a small step forward, the muscles in his arm suddenly tensing. A small cloud of energy burst out of his hand, flying over to the box and nudging it with enough force to scoot it back a few inches. Shepard's eyes flew open, and he smiled triumphantly.

"Hey! That worked!"

"Of course it did," Miranda said smugly.

Tali realized that she was grinding her teeth and clenching her fists when one of her fingers spasmed in protest. _She didn't need to be that close to him. All of that touching was completely unnecessary._ Shepard noticed her standing there and waved at her excitedly, which she returned halfheartedly. She crossed her arms as he turned and started chattering to Miranda about biotics and such, trying and failing to avoid sulking.

"I know that look," Zaeed said.

"What look? You can't see anything behind this mask," she retorted irritably.

"Don't need to. I'd be goddamn blind if I couldn't see it, helmet or not." Zaeed turned his eye to Miranda. "Don't worry, kid. I'm jealous too. Wish I had that woman rubbing on me that way."

"I'm not jealous," she muttered, bristling with jealousy.

"Whatever you say." Zaeed walked forward to the pair in the middle of the hold. "Hey, Miranda, right? I think I might have some biotic shit too. Want to teach me?"

"You're being paid for your mercenary skills, not your tongue. Be careful not to lose it." Miranda's eyes would have bored through steel, but Zaeed was undeterred.

"If that's the price, I might just be willing to pay it."

Shepard chuckled as he passed by Tali, heading to the elevator. "I think we might be about to lose our first recruit."

Tali followed in behind him, pointedly keeping a couple of feet between them inside the elevator. As the doors were shutting, they saw Miranda slap Zaeed hard enough to bring him to his knees. Shepard laughed as they slowly ascended. "I hope they'll be able to work together; with Jacob and Garrus in the medbay, we'll have to use them when we go retrieve Dr. Solus."

"Mhm."

Shepard sized up where she was standing, and he raised an amused eyebrow. "So…what did I do?"

"I don't know what you mean." Tali was absorbed in the elevator control panel, taking no heed of Shepard.

"Damn, it was that bad?" He came over to her and touched her shoulder, radiating sincerity. "I know me and Garrus are tight, but you know you're the only one for me."

She snorted despite herself, knocking him and his stupid grin away. _I know I'm probably being silly, but…_ She looked at his feet. "And what about Miranda?"

"Miranda?" Shepard looked genuinely surprised. "The cold-as-ice terrorist officer who is undoubtedly tasked with making sure I don't escape Cerberus' control? That's the one you're talking about, right?"

"Well, when you put it that way…" Tali shrugged uncomfortably. "She's also a very pretty human, isn't she?"

"I wouldn't know." He smiled at her. "You've ruined me for anyone else. No one is as beautiful as you are."

"Keelah, you're so impossibly corny," she said, though she still flushed at his words.

"I definitely am. But you like it."

"Maybe so." She took his hand and leaned against his arm. "Maybe so."

* * *

"Oof!" Tali reflexively grabbed the person who ran into her and pulled back her fist, but stopped her punch when she saw it was just some young girl. The girl squeaked and covered her face, and Tali let go of her and awkwardly lowered her arm.

"Nef!" A haggard looking woman sternly put her hands on her hips. "Watch where you're going! Now apologize!"

Nef bowed her head, meekly avoiding everyone's gaze. "Please forgive me. I didn't see you there."

"Oh, it's no problem." Tali surreptitiously patted her pockets to make sure she hadn't been robbed, but everything seemed to be in place. She bent down and helped Nef pick up the various pieces of paper that were scattered on the floor.

"If she would ever look up from her feet, maybe she could see well enough to avoid crashing into people!" The woman sighed in exasperation, turning to Shepard's group for the first time. Her eyes flitted across their weapons, and she immediately became nervous. "I hope we have not offended you by any means. If there is anything we could do for you…?"

"No, no." Tali quickly gave Nef back her papers. "We're fine. Have a nice day."

Clearly relieved, the woman grabbed Nef by the ear and dragged her back inside the small apartment. "Thank you for your kindness." The door slammed shut, and Tali could hear the woman's muffled shouts from the alley.

"You were about to lay that girl out," Shepard said with a smirk. "Such a bully. She looked terrified, the poor thing."

"Shut up," Tali growled. He did so, leading them through the maze of streets to the quarantined section of Omega. The only thing of note that occurred on the way there was a particularly wild-eyed batarian pointing at Shepard and calling him a blight.

"That's me. Blight-bringer, spawn of darkness. A veritable archdemon, if you will." The batarian appeared as if he was going to keel over in excitement, jabbing his finger in their direction and babbling about the end of days.

"You didn't need to encourage him like that." Zaeed sneered at the prophet as they moved on. "Why is everyone so fuckin' crazy here?"

They finally came across a section of street that was cordoned off, a guard posted outside the barricade. He had a bored expression as they walked up to him, catching the end of his sentence as he addressed an angry-looking woman standing in front of him and tapping her foot. "…cannot let anyone past this point. There's a plague."

"I'm human, you idiot! I can't get the plague. I just need to get in there and retrieve my belongings before the looters take everything I have!"

"I'm under strict orders to not let anyone through this checkpoint. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Aria." He turned to them and became warier, straightening his shoulders. "This area is off limits."

"Dr. Mordin Solus is in this sector, correct?" Shepard asked. Miranda made a small movement, to which Shepard shook his head. Tali noticed the small slashing motion she had made as well. _There's no reason to kill this man if we can avoid it. I knew I didn't like her for the right reasons. Well, mostly the right reasons._

"Yeah. Crazy bastard set up a clinic in there to try and stop the disease."

Shepard nodded. "Alright then. I need to get in there, and you need to let me in."

The turian was nonplussed. "How so?"

"The way I see it, you'd rather be doing something else besides guarding this little checkpoint. Nothing to do, turning away angry citizens all the time. You let us in, and we'll sort out this problem ourselves. Once the area is clear of the plague, you can let us back out again."

The guard glanced at the other members of Shepard's squad and shrugged. "Why the hell not? My main job is to keep people from leaving anyways. Just so you know, I won't let you back through unless I get the all clear."

"Fair enough."

The woman gaped as the four of them walked through the checkpoint. "You're just letting them through?! I've been waiting here for hours!"

"Yeah, but you don't have a grenade launcher, lady."

Shepard paused before they fully entered the quarantined zone. "You won't get the plague, right Tali? The suit will isolate you from it?"

Tali nodded. "Unless someone has specifically designed it to attack quarian environmental units, I'll be fine." Shepard hesitated some more, and Tali pulled him forward with her. "Come on. Don't worry so much; we're not as fragile as everyone makes us out to be."

The checkpoint closed behind them with a sense of finality, and Shepard gritted his teeth. "Alright. All the same, let's find this doctor as quickly as possible and get the hell out of here."


	11. Chapter 11: The Plague? No! Yes!

**Hey everyone! Happy Holidays! I really never know what to put in these little bits at the beginning. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and especially to those who have left reviews. I know, I say that all the time. I think I've even said I say that all the time before. I just want you all to know that I appreciate it. Anyways, Merry Christmas, and I hope you enjoy your present!**

* * *

He picked up the beaker and swirled it around, frowning at the lack of reaction inside. "Da dum da dum hm hm hm hm." He marked down a note in his omnitool and moved back to his microscope, examining the specimen once more. If he had more resources and better equipment, he could have narrowed down the possibilities for a cure significantly and produced the various strains simultaneously, allowing this plague to be put to rest without too much effort. As it stood currently, with his dwindling medical supplies already stretched thin in an attempt to keep his patients alive and his relatively barbaric instruments and makeshift lab, the virus was presenting a much greater challenge. He would have to be smart in order to avoid wasting his precious medicines on failed attempts. Luckily for Omega, he liked challenges. And being smart.

"Da da dee dee da da da dum scientist salariaaaaan," he sang quietly to himself, his mind hard at work. _Transmits independent of species. Humans immune. Why? If engineered with result to wipe out ward, why not kill them too? Not important, focus on cure. Can use human immunity, spread to others. But how? Piggyback off disease itself, neutralize plague and spread cure?_

"Dr. Solus!"

Mordin looked up from his table, blinking several times as he stored his train of thought away for later analysis. "What?"

His assistant, Daniel, was breathing heavily and struggled to speak through a stutter caused by fear. "The…there are p-people…"

"People, yes, what people?"

"Blue Suns. They want our medicine. I locked the door, but they sounded like they were going to break it down. What do we do?"

Mordin's mouth twisted into a small smile. "Haven't properly introduced myself. Will do so now. Tend to Beth, will need another dose of pain reliever. Oh, Gorbesh likely dead by now, dispose of body while I'm gone. Will return shortly."

"Dispose of him?" Daniel said, revolted. "Where?"

Mordin inhaled sharply. "Anywhere. Doesn't matter. Not here, could cause panic in patients. Also unsanitary. Use back door, less eyes that way."

Daniel grimaced, but nodded. "Okay. What are you going to do?"

"Not to worry. Situation under control." Mordin tapped on his omnitool, and a few LOKI mechs fell into step behind him. "Didn't reprogram security mechs to look pretty."

He walked up to the door, where someone was banging incessantly on the outside. "Hello."

The knocking stopped. "Open the fucking door!"

Mordin surveyed the group with the security feed linked to his omnitool. "Do you require assistance? More than happy to help, please leave weapons behind and you will be treated."

"We're not leaving our guns, and we're getting what we came for. We need that medicine, and you're going to hand it over to us or we'll blow this piece of shit apart."

Mordin started typing away as he continued their conversation. "Wouldn't advise that. How will you get medicine? Better used when not blown apart."

"Wh…whatever. This is your last chance: if we have to break down this door, you're dead. All of you."

Mordin chuckled. "My last chance? No, was your last chance. Would have spared you if cooperative." He opened the door, watching impassively as the mechs mowed down the mercenaries. The Blue Suns tried to fire back, but all of their weapons were malfunctioning. After they were all down, Mordin walked up to each one of them and put a bullet in their head. "Can't be too careful."

He decided to leave their bodies as a warning to anyone else who thought the clinic might be an easy target. This crude but effective security measure should allow him to concentrate on more important tasks. After all, it wouldn't be too long before the plague symptoms started manifesting themselves in him. His hand absentmindedly rubbed the lump where his horn used to be. _Maybe wouldn't be so bad._

 _Ridiculous. Who would save patients? Can have personal crisis later. Work to do._

* * *

The fire popped and sizzled in the middle of the street, beginning its decline to flameless coals and embers as its fuel source diminished. A charred hand broke off of the pile, crumbling into ash and bone as Shepard's group approached. Tali had made it a general rule to shut off her mask's olfactory functions in Omega, especially in an area with an active plague, but she was doubly glad to have done so based on her companions' expressions.

"Burning bodies in the streets. This is a goddamn mess." Zaeed held his head in a peculiar manner when he scanned the perimeter, no doubt due to his blind side. "Whoever did this is long gone. If this is where they're burning people, I doubt there's anyone left on this side of town."

A cough drew Tali's attention, and she saw a figure sitting against a wall in the distance. "There's at least one."

Shepard adjusted his grip on his rifle. "Let's see what he knows. Maybe he can point us towards Dr. Solus."

The batarian's eyes were blood-shot, and the skin underneath was baggy even for his race. He would produce a couple of weak coughs every few seconds, and a small trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. When he noticed his visitors, his face contorted into as much rage as he could muster, which wasn't very much. "Humans…come to gloat? Finish what you started?"

Shepard frowned. "What do you mean? We didn't start anything."

"Don't patronize me." The batarian coughed some more; the talking appeared to have irritated his lungs, as the wracking was stronger than before. "Scum. Killing us with a plague, then coming to steal from our corpses. You don't even have the decency to wait until we're dead." He was now coughing after every other word, and his eyes were bulging out of his head from the strain. "I hope you…burn in hell. You'll pay…you'll all pay…you…"

Shepard crouched next to the man. He feebly waved at the Commander. "Get…away…"

"Hold still." Shepard put some medigel on the batarian's throat, letting it seep beneath his skin. "There. It's not a cure, but it should ease the pain for a while."

The batarian rubbed his chest, and his breathing lost the crackly rasp it had before. "You helped me? Why?"

"Not all humans are monsters. Just like not all batarians are slavers and murderers," Shepard said evenly. "Maybe humans did start this plague, but we aren't them. Now, there is a clinic being run by Dr. Mordin Solus in here somewhere. Can you tell us where it is?"

The batarian slowly got to his feet, using the wall to push himself up. He considered Shepard for a while before nodding. "Yeah, I can. Just follow the road behind you for a couple of blocks. It'll be on the right with a bunch of dead Blue Suns outside, you can't miss it."

"Thanks. You know, you might want to go there yourself. It's a better shot than just sitting here waiting to die."

"Maybe. I'll think about it." The batarian watched them intently as they walked away and disappeared farther into the ward, his glittering eyes never blinking.

"We might need that medigel later on," Miranda said. "You shouldn't have wasted it on some bitter fool who will die in a few hours anyway."

"So showing kindness is a weakness?" Tali rounded on her. "He was in a great deal of pain. We couldn't have just left him there."

"Then we should have wasted a bullet instead of a dose of medigel, of which we have a very limited supply." Miranda crossed her arms as Tali glared at her. "I am not being needlessly cruel. Our mission is more important than the life of one civilian, and if one of us dies during this particular foray because we lacked a source of first aid, that makes our odds of succeeding against the Collectors that much worse."

"I see your point," Shepard interjected before Tali could continue. "I respect your opinion, but this is my mission. We do things my way, understood?"

"Of course, Commander. I assume I am allowed to voice my thoughts, however?"

"Somehow, I don't think withholding my permission would stop you from doing so anyway," Shepard said with a smirk. "Knock yourself out."

Based on Miranda and Zaeed's lack of reaction to Shepard's command for Miranda to render herself unconscious, Tali filed that away as yet another human phrase that made no sense. _I really need to pull up a list of the most common ones and program my translator to recognize them._

Most of the buildings in Omega weren't in the best of shape, but this particular area had a pervasive feeling of disuse and disrepair. With no people filling the alleys, the trash and neglected houses were more noticeable, and the occasional corpse or mass burning didn't help lift the gloom.

It was a surprise when they encountered a group of people clustered around a small apartment complex. Their armor was clearly Blue Suns, and Shepard walked towards them casually. "Greetings and salutations," he started, but before he could proceed with the peaceful approach, Zaeed tossed an inferno grenade in the middle of the mercs, scattering them and setting a couple ablaze.

"What the fuck?!" Shepard cried out as he dove for cover. Tali saw movement in the corner of her eye and turned just in time to see a second group of people appear from around the side of the building.

"There's more behind us!" Tali hunkered down between a concrete barrier and a railing, bullets raining all around her.

"Heads up!" Miranda called out. Tali looked up and saw a couple of bodies floating above her, blasting them before they could get their bearings and shoot at her. The sparks flying around her lessened, and she chanced peeking over the side to locate the enemies. A batarian was crawling forward across the street from her, slowly advancing on Miranda's position. She wouldn't be able to see him until he was directly on top of her.

Tali quickly overloaded his shields and sent Chatika after him before ducking back down. She spent the next thirty seconds hacking into various mercs and messing with their electronics. Suddenly, she heard a thump next to her, and she looked to her left to see a surprised man crouching next to her. She tackled him before he could bring his rifle to bear, grappling with his weapon as she fell on top of him. The gun went off several times as the man's finger got trapped in the trigger guard, but he held on tightly as they rolled around in the small space. His knee connected with her abdomen several times in a row, and she almost released her hold before she managed to get her legs in the way. She tried to return the favor, but their limbs were too entangled to get much force in the enclosed space.

A solid metallic clang brought their attention to a small sphere that landed a few inches from their heads. Tali's blood ran cold when she saw the red light blinking on the side. Before the merc could react, Tali pulled him in an unexpected direction, dragging his body over the tiny bomb. His eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen, and he let go of the gun in an attempt to scramble away. Tali let go of the rifle as well, wrapping her arms around his and keeping him pinned on the grenade. He let out a short scream before a heavy force lifted them off the ground for a split second, and when they landed again, he had quit struggling. A large pool of blood oozed from under him, and Tali crawled off the corpse with a shudder. _I think I just found my new least favorite way to kill someone._

She continued what she had been doing before, providing technical support until the bullets stopped whizzing over her head. She cautiously raised herself up, seeing Miranda and Shepard doing the same from their respective hiding places. Zaeed was standing in the middle of the original group of mercs, breathing heavily. The good half of his face was caked in blood, though it appeared to be someone else's. Shepard quickly came over to her, checking her over for injuries. "Are you alright? That's a lot of blood."

"I'm fine. Grenade got my friend here."

Shepard paled when he saw the merc. "If he hadn't been here to take that grenade…"

"But he was," Tali reassured him, but she could tell he was still on edge from her close shave. He looked up as Miranda walked over to them, a freshly applied bandage on her arm. "You good?"

"Yes, Shepard."

Shepard focused on Zaeed, who was still standing by himself in the middle of the battlefield, and his jaw locked as he strode over to the grizzled veteran. _Uh oh._

"I hope you have a good explanation for the shit you just pulled," Shepard said heatedly.

"Yeah, I do." Zaeed nudged the chestplate on one of the bodies. "See that symbol? Blue Suns."

"So?"

"So, they would have opened fire the moment they noticed the four heavily armed jackasses walking right up to them. I know how they operate. I saved your life."

Shepard shook his head. "Just throwing a grenade without so much as a warning is not saving my life. I had a plan in place, if you had just followed my lead."

Zaeed tore off a piece of cloth from one of the downed foes and wiped his face. "Look, I was brought on to fight these Collectors and try to survive this goddamn suicide mission. I'm not going to let myself get killed on some random sideshow because you need to feel in charge, kid."

Shepard's eyes hardened. "That's Commander. Apparently you didn't hear me when I told Miranda this a few minutes ago. I don't need to feel like I'm in charge: I am in charge. If you've got a problem with that, I'm sure your payment can be rescinded."

Zaeed made to bring up his rifle, but Shepard had a pistol underneath his neck in the blink of an eye. "Unless you'd rather have a more violent conclusion right now." The tension grew as the two men stared silently at each other, neither one moving a muscle while Tali started to sweat. Miranda wore her normal indifferent air, but she had carefully moved herself into striking range of Zaeed. _No doubt concerned about her investment; wouldn't want all that work wasted._ Finally, Zaeed's lips pulled back in a poor caricature of a smile.

"I like my money very much where it is right now, thanks. You're the boss, Shepard."

Shepard holstered his gun, turning his back on Zaeed without a second glance. "Good. The clinic should be just up ahead. At the very least, there shouldn't be any more Blue Suns in the area, or they would have come running when they heard the shooting."

They traveled the rest of the way in silence. Tali and Miranda kept Zaeed within their sights for the duration, both ready to strike at a moment's notice. On the other hand, Zaeed and Shepard moved with an almost infuriating amount of nonchalance that put Tali even more on edge. Still, they reached the clinic without further incident.

There were quite a few bodies strewn about haphazardly around the entrance to the clinic. Hanging next to the door and directly above the carnage was a cheery sign that read 'All are welcome'.

Shepard stepped forward and knocked on the metal frame. Tali heard a whirring noise and saw a small camera spinning around and focusing on Shepard.

"What do you want?"

"We need to speak to Dr. Mordin Solus."

"You're human. You're immune to the plague. Go away, if you know what's good for you."

A strong cough burst its way out of Tali's lungs, bending her over from the force of it. _Must be something stuck in my throat._ She tried to clear her throat, but the tickle that appeared remained stubbornly in place. Shepard brought her forward into the camera's view.

"My friend here is really sick. We need to see him, please."

The voice sounded irritated. "Yes, fine, fine. Leave your weapons and don't try anything funny."

After they had all placed their obvious armaments aside, though Tali knew that each of them had their fair share of tricks they kept hidden, the door slid open, allowing them to enter. Shepard gave Tali a small wink. "Nice job."

Tali shook her head. "I didn't mean to do that, but that was quick thinking on your part." She started coughing again, and her ribs felt ached from the pressure. Once she finished, she noticed the tiny flecks of blood on the inside of her visor. _Oh shit._

Shepard put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I…I think I have it. The plague."

"What?!" Shepard immediately went into panic mode, his words tripping over themselves. "I thought your suit filtered the air it received, how did something get through?"

Tali shook her head. "This virus must be engineered. They really covered all of their bases to make sure it could infect quarians, though." She brushed away his hands and smiled. "Hey. I'm not just going to drop dead. We're here to see the doctor anyway; let's go talk to him before we start worrying, okay?"

"Why aren't you worrying more?" he asked with a hint of frustration. "This is really serious. I can't believe I let you come in here."

Tali knocked into him as she started to walk past. "Let me come in here. Keelah. Anyway, I'm a quarian. We deal with disease and allergic reactions all the time. Besides, I survived flying through a mass relay with you in a Mako. This is not how I go out."

Zaeed blinked. "You did what?"

They moved through the small corridors full of sick and dying people lying on cots and mattresses. A salarian was standing in the middle of a conglomeration of vials, microscopes, and needles, muttering to himself as he messed with something on a table.

"Dr. Mordin Solus?" Shepard asked, taking in the doctor-like coat the salarian had equipped. His eyes snapped to them, blinking several times before he began to speak in one of the strangest cadences Tali had ever heard.

"Yes. Who are you? Human, well equipped, not Blue Suns, Blood Pack impossible. N7, Alliance designation, non-Alliance personnel accompanying. Alliance wouldn't send people to Omega. No point-"

Shepard held up a hand. "Good Lord, do you ever take a breath?"

Mordin inhaled deeply. "Yes."

Shepard couldn't help but smile at that. "I'm Commander Shepard. I was sent here to recruit you for a mission to stop the Collectors, but we actually have another problem-"

Mordin cut him off, pacing as he spouted out a string of sentences. "Collectors? Hm, may have similar goals. Plague artificial in origin, vorcha lack ability, humans lack motive. Plague suggests advanced technology, Collectors one of few species capable of producing it." He nodded to himself, kneeling down to retrieve something from underneath his workbench. "Who sent you?"

"Cerberus," Shepard responded. Miranda gave a small huff of annoyance. He looked at her. "He'd find out soon enough anyway. Now, about the other thing-"

"Cerberus? Pro-human splinter group, acquiring non-human aid, interesting. Must be desperate."

"Yes," Shepard said, growing impatient. "Entire human colonies are disappearing. Anyway-"

"Yes, have heard rumors. Hm. Cannot leave, however. Plague devastating, must stop it first. Already have cure, just need to spread through ward."

Shepard, who had been about to blow a gasket, had the tension visibly drain out of him. "You have a cure? Would it work on quarians?"

Mordin locked onto Tali, placing a hand under his chin as he studied her. "She is infected? Verifies hypothesis, certainly not a natural disease. Should work independent of species." He paused. "Natural immune system may be problematic." He started rummaging around in his pile of tools.

"What do you mean, problematic?" Tali asked.

"Accelerated time frame. Plague normally takes days to complete cycle. How long have you been exposed?"

"Less than an hour."

"Good." Mordin walked forward with a small tube and handed it to her. "Found vial, should link with induction port. Not the cleanest environment, may experience reaction. Doesn't matter, must take cure now."

Tali hesitated as she looked at the unsealed vile. "I feel fine. What's the rush? Can't we administer this back at the Normandy or something?"

Mordin smiled. "You won't. Take it, exposure minimum, reaction minor at most."

As he said that, Tali felt a wave of dizziness take over her, and she fell against Miranda as she lost her balance. It was gone just as quickly, but her muscles had been sapped of their energy, leaving her with a pervading sense of tiredness.

"Okay, you might have a point." She attached the tube and almost opened the seal to accept the medicine before she gave Mordin a sideways look. "You aren't just trying to kill me with this, right?"

Mordin chuckled. "Suspicious. Understandable. If I wanted you dead, simply refuse cure."

She nodded. "Alright." She took the cure, squashing down her survival instincts that were screaming at her for interacting with an unclean vial. She could see anxiety written on Shepard's face and grinned at him. "See, I'm feeling better already."

Or at least, that's what she tried to say. Instead, she fell to her knees and started heaving, keeping the contents of her stomach down through sheer force of will. Sweat broke out all over her body, and she started shivering uncontrollably. Shepard rounded on Mordin, picking him up off the ground by his collar. "What did you do to her?!"

"Cured her. Lengthy process, unpleasant, will take time. Will recover, not to worry. Would appreciate being put down."

Tali groaned as they brought her over to a small cot in the lab, curling up into a ball as pain wracked her body. Deciding that unconsciousness was a better alternative to this, she let the wave of darkness that had been threatening to envelop her lead her far away from the fire that was eating away at every nerve in her body.


	12. Chapter 12: Breath of Fresh Air

**Hey everyone! So, just as a fair warning, the missions that I cover will not be following the game one hundred percent. I will include anything I find interesting or that flows well with the chapter, but if it is unimportant or might cause the section to drag on too long, then I probably will just skip over that part. Also, there might be a few things that were not present in the canon story-line, such as Tali getting sick, that may show up in this story. If I find a part that is boring to write, I can't imagine that it would be interesting to read. Anyway, just trying to explain the slightly altered take on things that occur throughout this series. Hope you all enjoy, and Happy New Years!**

* * *

Shepard watched as Tali's breath came in small bursts, not at all resembling the deep inhalations associated with sleep. Though not tall to begin with, she looked even more diminutive than normal curled up on the small medical cot. Her mask was covered in droplets of condensation and a film of fog that obscured even her luminescent eyes as her body fought against the disease, the cure, and possibly the early stages of an allergic reaction simultaneously.

"She was fine a few minutes ago. Why did your cure affect her this way?"

Mordin was typing things into his omnitool as he observed Tali. "Quarian immune system more deficient than most races. Anticipated adverse reaction, but never guessed would occur this quickly. Fascinating." He saw murder in Shepard's gaze and hastily continued his thoughts. "Will recover from plague and cure. Exposure to unsanitary vial is…problematic. Cannot predict effects accurately; always risk."

At this point, Mordin began talking more to himself than to Shepard. "Hm…limited contact, weakened immune system from plague, bolstered from additives in cure however…" He nodded. "Estimate survival at 85%. Better than most in this clinic; caught before fever set in."

The whirring sound of the air circulating through the facility slowed to a stop, creating a deafening silence in its wake. Mordin blinked a few times. "Make that 70%. Air supply terminated, must be vorcha. Working for Collectors? Most likely, prime candidates for spreading plague. Cleaning up experiment, erasing evidence? Possibly. Doesn't matter, need to turn back on."

"Great," Zaeed grunted. "First we were gonna save the doc, now we gotta save the whole goddamn sector."

"I thought you wanted to be 'big goddamn heroes'?" Miranda smirked. "You really like to use that word, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. It adds emphasis to things, and I don't have time to think of some fancy replacement for every goddamn word." The responsive part of Zaeed's face lit up with amusement. "As you can see, it might be a bit ingrained as well."

Shepard didn't bother trying to rein them back in. "How long do we have before everyone suffocates?"

"One hour, two."

He pointed at his omnitool. "Can you send us the location for the vents?"

"Sure." Mordin typed for a few seconds, and Shepard felt a slight buzz on his arm.

"Thanks." He looked at Tali's sleeping form and stepped close to Mordin. "Just so you know, if anything happens to her…if she doesn't make it…" He couldn't finish the threat past the lump in his throat and settled for a glare that conveyed everything Mordin needed to know.

"Noted. Won't bother arming mechs, will simply run away should that possibility occur." Mordin smiled at Shepard before the Commander could react to Mordin's facetious response. "Quarian in good hands. Won't matter if we all die."

Deciding that was good enough, Shepard moved over to Tali, sitting on the edge of the bed and squeezing her shaking shoulder. "I'll be back soon," he whispered. "I didn't return from the dead just to see you leave the living. Wait for me, okay?"

Miranda nudged Mordin. "Do us all a favor and keep her alive. I'm not sure how many of us would live through his grieving period."

"Indeed." Mordin thrust a bag into Miranda's stomach, waiting until she was holding it properly before releasing it. "While there, insert remaining cure into circulation system. Will distribute it to rest of ward efficiently. Easy process, can walk you through once there."

Miranda held the bag out to Zaeed. "You carry it."

"The fuck I am."

"I don't have any place hold it. You, however, have at least half a dozen pockets and satchels strapped to you already." Zaeed grumbled, but he took the sack and found a place for it on his back. "Besides, you have to start earning your paycheck somehow."

"Goddamn fucking errand boy," he muttered.

"Don't forget hero," Miranda said lightheartedly. "Look, we need Dr. Solus on our team, and he won't come until this problem is solved. The quicker we do this, the quicker we can get out of here."

Shepard marched back through the clinic without warning, making Miranda and Zaeed have to jog to catch back up. He rearmed himself in a matter of seconds, bringing up the map Mordin had sent while the others continued to mess with their weapons. "Looks like the fans are about ten minutes away."

"We'll likely run into more Blue Suns on the way, as well as the vorcha at the fans themselves." Miranda snapped on her submachine gun and joined Shepard, looking at the map with him. She traced a path with her finger through the maze of passages; the shiny material of her shirt grazed against his arm as she did so. He paid it no attention. "If we stick to the upper levels, we should be able to avoid the majority of enemy interference. They should be mostly stationed on the ground."

"Let's go, then." Shepard broke away, chambering a round in his assault rifle. _I knew it. As soon as that guard said only humans were immune, I knew this would happen. Why didn't I order her back to the ship?_ The same sense of guilt he had harbored while he thought Tali was dead on Noveria overtook his mind, feeding his fears and making it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. Tali's confident voice saying 'This is not how I go out' rang through his head, but people don't get to choose their end. His family and his platoon on Akuze had proven that much. He had lost so much in his life: hell, he'd even lost his life for a while. The thought of losing Tali as well was driving him mad.

They passed through the balconies and walkways, avoiding the ground floor like the plague. The distant sound of fighting drew their attention, and it gradually increased in volume as they traversed towards their destination. Eventually, they happened upon a fierce battle between the Blue Suns and a pack of vorcha. The mercenaries were putting up a valiant defense, costing the vorcha dozens of troops for every couple of feet gained, but the overwhelming numbers were beginning to take their toll on them. As the squad silently crossed overhead, the vorcha successfully pushed the Blue Suns out of the square and forced a full-scale retreat.

"Pathetic," Zaeed said. "If they're being shoved around like this in their own territory, things have really gone to shit for them."

They didn't see any resistance when they reached the fans, but as soon as they entered the main facility, vorcha appeared from every nook and cranny around the room.

"Stupid humans," the vorcha in the center spat in a guttural growl. "We knew you would come here. Collectors left us to guard. Soon, you all die!"

"You first," Shepard said coldly, sending a bullet straight through the spiny creature's skull. He slid to the side next to Zaeed, storing his assault rifle and priming his sniper as the facility erupted into pandemonium. "I'm going to take out the rocket troops on the catwalks. Give me some cover."

Zaeed nodded, spraying bullets at the nearest enemies and pinning them behind their shelter. Shepard took advantage of the distraction and eliminated three out of the four heavy troops. The last one, after seeing his friends go down, crouched safely behind a concrete pillar. Shepard gritted his teeth. _Can't leave him alone, or we'll be dealing with rockets later._

The vorcha flew into the air and remained there, dangling from a suspended ankle. Shepard landed the easy headshot, giving Miranda a thumbs up. As he did so, he saw a vorcha stagger up behind her, a giant flamethrower in his hands. Shepard yanked at Miranda, and she came tumbling across the floor as a gout of flame consumed the spot she had been occupying. She rolled to a stop next to Shepard and regained her feet fluidly, though her hair was looking decidedly out of place. "Nice one. I'm glad we had our lesson."

Though there were many, many vorcha, their attacks were scattered and lacked cohesion. The coordinated efforts of Shepard's team cut through the horde like a hot knife through butter, and soon they had carved a path to the control panel. Shepard was impressed with how Miranda and Zaeed adapted to work together with him; it was a far cry from the seamless connection he'd had with the ground team from the Normandy SR-1, but that hadn't started out amazingly either.

"We'll keep them busy. Put in the cure and restart the system." Shepard launched a couple of grenades, collapsing one of the walkways and narrowly avoiding the giant fan.

"Maybe keep the explosives down to a minimum," Miranda suggested dryly, flinging a body over the edge of the railing.

Zaeed pulled out the container and frowned at the interface. He pressed a couple of things, but the machine remained unresponsive. "The goddamn thing isn't working."

Mordin's voice crackled over the radio. "Have you tried turning it off and back on again?"

"Not the time for sarcasm!" Shepard shouted.

"There's no on button anyway," Zaeed added, his hands randomly pressing and twisting various parts of the control board.

"Sorry. Simple process. Flip the two green switches, turn knob 90 degrees clockwise, then click OK, Yes, Confirm, enter code 64395."

Zaeed squinted. "That's not helpful, Doc. There's no fucking switches anywhere."

"Just let me do it," Miranda snapped, turning around and investigating the panel with Zaeed. Shepard came under heavy fire as he became the sole target for the vorcha. His shields were continually depleted, and he began sustaining several surface wounds as his armor chipped away. _It's about time I started getting new scars anyway._ He shot a missile out of the air right before it impacted his position, scorching his helmet with the blast.

"Any day now!" There was barely anything left of the small crate he'd positioned himself behind. He grabbed a corpse from the ground nearby and held it between him and the onslaught of bullets, shooting back at them with his free hand as he ran for a more undamaged box. Though he took a couple of hits, the vorcha body-armor did the trick and got him safely out of the open. He took a moment to check his wounds and expel the spent heatsinks, the constant clinking of bullets striking metal filling his ears. "Okay, seriously, are you guys done yet?"

"Give us a second," Miranda called out.

"Come on, how hard can it be?!"

"If you think it's so easy, you do it," she snarled.

"If I wasn't getting shot to pieces, I would!" Shepard tried to peek out, but there weren't any openings in the gunfire. He'd be instantly targeted as soon as any part of him became visible. "I'm pinned down. I can't tell if they're advancing on you or not."

"Should be working. Followed procedure, must be tampered with." Mordin's sharp intake of breath made a horrible sound over the radio. "Unsure how to proceed. Prefer organic problems to technological. More interesting. Can run diagnostics, should only take a few minutes."

"That's it." Zaeed slammed the butt of his rifle into the module, causing the interface to spark. "Time to improvise."

Miranda glared at him. "That's not improvisation, that's just sheer stupidity-"

A great rush of wind cut her off as the fans flared back to life. Several vorcha were either sliced by the blades or blown into the abyss as the unexpected influx of air caught them off guard. Miranda shook her head in disgust and rejoined Shepard at the front, pointedly ignoring Zaeed's smug grin. "I'm a goddamn genius."

"That's one word for it."

After a few more minutes of combat, Miranda put three bullets in the final vorcha's chest, bringing the fight to an end. The only one who had sustained anything more than a flesh wound was Shepard, who was admittedly quite banged up and bleeding from various places. He applied medigel to the worst of it on the fly, his brisk pace never slowing.

"We grab Tali and the Doctor, and then we leave."

"Are you sure that's the wisest plan?" Miranda jogged up alongside him. "Tali might not be in the best position to be moved."

"Mordin?" Shepard asked the comms.

"Movement not optimal, but environment worse. Assume ship has medical equipment onboard?"

"Yes. And our medical officer is familiar with treating her."

"Recommend transferring. More able to adequately deal with compromised immune system."

Miranda set her jaw. "What if the guards won't let us out? Do you really think they will just take our word for it?"

"They will either believe Dr. Solus, or we will go through them."

She moved in front of him, stopping him with her hand. "Do you understand what you're saying? Those aren't Blue Suns mercs or Blood Pack goons. If we do this, we're essentially declaring war on Aria T'Loak."

"Hopefully, it won't come to that. If it does, I'll find a way to make it up to her or something."

"You could send her flowers," Zaeed chimed in. "That works about half the time."

"Tali's safety is my priority. If she has a better chance of survival on the Normandy, then I am getting her there one way or another."

"Even if doing so might jeopardize the mission? Omega isn't some minor colony world; there is a high likelihood that we'll need to return here."

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Shepard stared at Miranda until she stepped aside, and he continued on the route back to the clinic.

* * *

"You say the plague is cured?"

"Completely. Used ventilation system, entire sector clear."

Shepard held Tali close against him, using her legs to hide the pistol he had ready as he cradled her. There were only four guards at the checkpoint, so he wasn't worried about overpowering them. What he was worried about was the checkpoint itself. If they couldn't get through peacefully, he wasn't sure there was a way to breach the barrier. It appeared sturdy enough to resist even his grenade launcher, and besides, it was placed right next to a residential district. He wanted to avoid as much collateral damage as possible. As far as the guards themselves were concerned…when it came down to it, he valued Tali's life over theirs, and he would do what was necessary to protect her. _Listen to yourself. Is this what Tali would want? You're not thinking straight._ He ignored the small voice of protest. He'd ordered his team to make non-lethal attacks only, if they could help it. It would have to be enough.

The guard was speaking in hushed tones with someone over a radio. Shepard could only make out bits of the conversation; they were talking about Mordin, he thought. The turian clicked a button and faced Mordin again.

"Alright, Aria says you're free to come in."

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief, hoisting Tali up a bit to readjust his grip as the gate slowly swung open. He was the last in line to pass through the small hallway. As he did, the guard looked startled.

"Hey, what's wrong with your friend there?"

"She's a quarian. She took some fire, and her suit punctured. It's not the plague, I swear." Sweat formed on his temples as he stood in the middle of the checkpoint, waiting to see if his answer was acceptable. The guard narrowed his eyes and slowly reached a hand to his belt.

"I'm going to have to-"

Shepard blasted out both of his kneecaps before he could finish, and he fell to the floor with a cry of pain. "Go go go!" he shouted to his team as he sprinted through the open gate, the other guards still fumbling for their weapons. Bullets started flying at them as they careened around the corner, and Shepard saw a salarian clutch his side and collapse on the street. _Damn it._

"I recommend haste."

"Really EDI? That's very helpful." They hurtled by the front of Aria's bar, and the elcor bouncer slowly rotated to look at them.

"Distressed: halt."

A guard stepped into their path and fired a few rounds into them, but their collective shields absorbed the damage. Mordin, who was leading the pack for some reason, struck the man in the face with the palm of his hand, breaking his nose. He placed his foot behind the guard's and used his momentum to deftly trip the man into a door frame and continued on without losing any speed.

"Nice one. Where'd you learn that?" Zaeed panted, trying to ward off a stich in his side. Cardio did not suit the old mercenary.

"Not simple scientist. Combat trained, STG. Miss it some."

Luckily, the docks were overcrowded with people, and the few security forces stationed there either hadn't been informed about them or couldn't find them in the giant throng. They slipped through to the Normandy's airlock without any more projectiles being shot their way. Shepard tapped his foot impatiently while they waited for the doors to open.

"How long will it take to get underway?"

"The ship is already prepared for takeoff. I started the undocking procedure when you mentioned the possibility of an altercation between you and Aria." EDI's holographic form blinked into existence next to them. "Mr. Moreau is detaching from the docking clamps currently."

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up, Commander," Joker called over his shoulder as Shepard ran by the cockpit. "Where are we heading?"

"Anywhere, I don't care. Miranda, help Joker figure it out."

Joker turned back to his command terminal. "Right. Setting a course for 'anywhere'."

Shepard ran around the CIC and entered the lift, smashing the button for the third floor. Mordin slipped in behind him and joined him for the ride, pulling up Tali's vitals on his omnitool. "Come on come on come on," Shepard muttered as the elevator began its slow descent.

"Dr. Chakwas has been informed of Tali's condition. She is waiting to receive her in the medbay."

"Thanks, EDI."

Mordin looked curious. "Synthesized emotions, able to form conclusions without direct commands. Can't be, maybe, have to ask, is that an AI?"

"Yes."

"Interesting. Non-human companions, AI on ship, Cerberus more desperate than I thought."

Shepard didn't really care one way or the other what Mordin thought about the state of Cerberus at that point in time. He quickly ran over to the medbay as soon as the doors slid open and met Dr. Chakwas just inside.

"Put her here." She motioned to the bed next to Garrus. Shepard placed her gently onto the mattress. She stirred slightly as he did so, murmuring something he couldn't quite hear and reaching over to him. He held her hand as Chakwas began examining her.

"She'll be fine, right? Now that she's here, you can give her something to help. Boosters and, and medicine."

"I'll take care of her, Commander. Don't fret just yet; I'm sure she'll pull through splendidly." Her eyes glanced over Shepard. "Also, you aren't leaving here until I've had a chance to look at your injuries as well."

"No."

"Don't argue." She led him over to the other side of Garrus and made him sit on the edge of the bed. "Stay here. I need my space, and you'll just get in the way."

He looked at Garrus, who was still unconscious where they'd left him before the mission. His breath rattled, and Shepard could see his good eye moving frantically underneath its lid. Two of his closest friends had already almost died, and they haven't even seen a Collector yet. Tali might still, but watching Chakwas working on her made him relax a bit. She was getting the best care possible; there was nothing more to do now but wait.


	13. Chapter 13: Cat and Mouse

**Hey everyone! I don't have much to say this week, other than of course thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Waking from a deep sleep can be pleasant and leave one with a feeling of restfulness that permeates throughout the day, providing much needed energy to deal with life's circumstances and pitfalls and setting a bright and sunny tone for the morning. When one experiences such a feeling, it is easy to imagine that anything is possible while equipped with this overflowing well of determination and optimism.

This, unfortunately, was not the case for Tali. To put it bluntly, she felt like shit when her eyes blearily parted for the first time since her collapse on Omega. Someone was pounding a giant hammer inside her skull; she wished they would stop. She tried breathing in through her nose, but found that pathway completely blocked off. _That explains why my mouth is so dry._ She slowly looked around, though even this slight movement compounded her headache twice over. _Oh. The medbay. I guess that means we made it back to the Normandy._ She recognized some voices arguing beside her, and she tried to make sense of them through the ache in her ears.

"Really, I'm fine now." It was hard to mistake Garrus' two-toned speech for anyone else's.

"Your face is hanging on by some bandages and a few spools of thread. I don't even know how you're managing to talk right now, but you are not leaving this sick bay." _And there's Chakwas._

"It's nothing I can't handle. I need to speak to Shepard; we have a lot to talk about."

"You're in luck, then." Tali heard Shepard's voice and tried to look at him, but the effort only rewarded her with more intense throbbing and a small groan of pain.

Chakwas let out a huff. "Oh, for Pete's sake, not you too. Honestly, can none of my patients relax and heal the way they're supposed to?" Tali saw a shadow cross over her, and she blinked as Chakwas' face came into focus.

An unintelligible rasp of air escaped Tali's throat as she attempted to say hello. _I am seriously messed up._

"She's awake?!" Shepard appeared next to her, and she saw Garrus walk up beside him. "Is she going to be okay? This is a good sign, right?"

"I believe the worst is behind her, yes." Chakwas rummaged around in her desk and started messing with one of the machines near Tali. "She'll still need a lot of rest. That means you can't be in here bothering her all the time."

"He's not listening," she croaked, smiling as he clasped her hand in his. She mustered the smallest amount of pressure before her fingers refused to respond.

"What did I say about talking?" Chakwas snapped. "And you – were you listening to me?"

"Um…you said the worst was behind her?"

Garrus laughed. "She called it. Good to see you alive, Tali."

"You…look…terrible," she whispered, making him laugh again.

"No talking!"

"Sorry…" She grinned sheepishly as Chakwas harassed Shepard and Garrus until she finally managed to kick them out of the medbay. _Probably for the best. I'm exhausted already…_

* * *

"So. Cerberus." Garrus leaned back against the railing in front of the main gun, looking passively at Shepard.

"So. Archangel."

Garrus' mouth twitched, sending a bolt of pain through his jaw that he ignored. "Fair enough. You want to go first, or shall I?"

Shepard shrugged. "Mine's pretty simple. They brought me back from the dead, so I didn't have much choice there. I'm staying with them for now because they have a lead on the Reapers. The Collectors are abducting entire human colonies, and we think they're doing it for the Reapers." His eyes stared over Garrus' shoulder and became harder, flecked with traces of bitterness. "I read the reports of how the Council swept everything about the invasion of the Citadel under the rug. Everyone believes it was the geth that attacked two years ago. I'm tired of fighting against the people who are supposed to be helping me. At least Cerberus takes the threat seriously."

Garrus nodded. "I can see your point. You don't have to convince me about seeing the world in shades of grey. Besides, now I'll be here to watch your back when they decide to put a knife in it."

Shepard's face lit up with a smile as he looked at his old friend. "Damn, it's good to see you. Well, half of you."

Garrus gingerly patted the cloth on his face. "Alright, give it to me straight. How bad is it? I haven't had the chance to look in a mirror yet."

Shepard clapped his shoulder. "It's okay, buddy. You were always ugly."

Garrus chuckled and then winced. "Take it easy on the jokes. I'm barely holding together as it is."

"Alright. So, how'd you end up becoming a turian Batman?"

"Who's Batman?"

Shepard's eyebrow rose. "Only the most famous vigilante Earth has ever had. It's a compliment, don't worry about it."

 _Ugh, how do I explain it? I know he thought I'd learned a lesson or something with Dr. Saleon, and I did, but…_ Thinking back over his actions during the past two years, Garrus wondered if he had in fact taken anything Shepard had tried to teach him to heart. _There's a joke in there somewhere. Focus, Garrus._

"After you died, I couldn't take all of the bullshit in the Citadel. Everything you did, they just hid it away. Anderson tried to fight it, but he was outvoted at every turn. So I left. I went to a place where I knew I could do some good, the only way I know how. Omega made my job easy; there were people who deserved the death penalty or worse everywhere I turned."

"They did deserve it, right?" Shepard scratched at his chin. "I know you have a tendency to get a little…fanatical about criminals walking free."

"I always did my research carefully. Every mark earned the bullet I put in them a thousand times over." Garrus clenched his fist. _Don't get dramatic. Just tell your story._ "The locals noticed all the good I was doing, and they gave me my nickname, like I told you before. I got a team together, people like me who were tired of seeing bad people get away with their crimes because of red tape or politics. We were clean, surgical, precise. They never stood a chance."

"How'd they get the drop on you?"

A vision of Sidonis' face burned away any sense of restraint he'd had. "Sidonis. He was the first person to join my cause. He betrayed us, got my entire team killed and nearly did me in to. When I find that son of a bitch, I'm going to coat the floor with his brains." He didn't realize he was breathing hard until he felt the small trickle of blood dripping from his chin. Apparently, he'd ripped one of his stitches while he was talking.

Shepard chewed his lip. "Garrus-"

"I don't want to hear it, Shepard." Garrus turned away. "If you don't approve, that's fine. This is just something that I have to do. I don't need you to understand, but I would like to have your help when I find him."

"Of course," Shepard replied without hesitation. Garrus was a little taken aback at Shepard's quick response, and Shepard saw his surprised start. "Garrus, you're one of my closest friends. This shit we've seen, that we've been through…whenever you need me, just say the word. I'll be there."

"I…didn't expect that. Thanks."

"That doesn't mean you get out of a good lecturing," Shepard said jokingly. "But, whatever you decide, you can count on me. Now, enough of this heavy stuff. There's an open bar just down the hall; you in?"

"Hell yes."

* * *

She drove another dozen needles into various parts of her victim's body, and his screams ripped through the finely furnished office. "Talk. Now." She hadn't needed to use her biotics, of course, but it was much more intimidating than doing it by hand.

"I can't! You know I can't. It doesn't matter what you do to me, he'll do far worse if I say a word to you."

Liara looked at the helpless man with cold disdain. "Then I suppose you are of no further use to me." She turned around and started to walk away, casually waving her hand and consolidating the rest of the needles to a point millimeters away from the agent's eye. "Goodbye."

"Wait wait wait WAIT! Wait." He tried to blink, but the tips of the needles stopped his eyelids from closing. "Okay. L-listen, I don't know much. However, I was supposed to meet someone tonight for a pickup. Don't know what, but I do have a location and a time. Maybe that person will know more about him."

Liara pulled the chair he was tied to over to her, leaving it hovering off the ground as her fingers closed around his throat. "Give me the information."

"Jerista Street, 7:30! Wear a red scarf, that's how they'll know to come talk to you."

She let his chair crash to the ground. "Thank you for your cooperation."

He licked his lips nervously. "So, are you going to let me go?"

Liara was perplexed by his question. "You are new to this, I take it? How long have you been working for the Shadow Broker?"

"Only a month or so. That's why I don't know anything."

"I see." _He is barely involved. There is no reason to kill him._

 _There is every reason to kill him,_ she argued against herself. _He could be lying. He could tip off the Shadow Broker's contact, and then all of this will have been for nothing. Even if I keep him under custody until the exchange occurs, there is no guarantee he will remain my prisoner. He must die._

"I am sorry for this. Know that it is a far less painful death than you would face from your employer." With that, she pulled out her pistol and shot him through the head. The silencer muffled the sound, and though the cough from the bullet was still quite loud, any remaining noise was absorbed by the sound-proofing she'd installed in her office. She folded the plastic tarp she'd placed on the floor around the body, neatly encasing the evidence of her interrogation. Though her room was more window than wall, she had obscured the tint so that no one could see in. Her job finished and her bundle ready to be transported, she moved back around to her desk and sat at her chair.

"Nyxeris!"

Her assistant appeared almost instantaneously, her expression unfazed by the scene. "Yes, Dr. T'Soni?"

"I need you to dispose of him. Find out his identity and make sure he is officially known as dead, but wait to release that information until tomorrow."

"It would be easier and safer to simply let him be forgotten; you risk exposure otherwise."

Liara sighed. "Yes, it would be safer. However, I am already responsible for taking this man's life. It is far crueler to let his family wonder about his fate and hope for years for him to return than to at least let them know that he has perished."

Nyxeris smiled. "I am constantly amazed by your ability to keep your morals in this business. It is one of the reasons I sought the opportunity to work for you, ma'am."

 _Keep my morals. Right._ "Clear my schedule for tonight. I have a meeting that I cannot miss."

"Really? Did you find out something useful, then?"

"Perhaps. I am not sure yet, but we may be able to capture someone who actually knows something about the Shadow Broker." Liara slammed a fist into her desk. "We are close, Nyxeris. I can feel it."

"What if this agent doesn't talk?" Nyxeris levitated the plastic-wrapped corpse and moved it into a side room. Liara hated that room; it was the site of most of their…disposal methods.

"Everyone talks eventually. It just takes a little patience." Liara began to flit through her screens, absorbing the news she had missed while she was preoccupied with her friend.

"Where will you be heading to?"

Liara rolled her eyes. "You know I cannot tell you that. Until the operation is complete, it is best to isolate any knowledge we have obtained. It lessens the chance that he will find out something is amiss."

"You're right, of course. My apologies."

"Make sure to lay out a scarf for me before you leave for the evening. And make it red."

Nyxeris' eyes glittered with something Liara didn't recognize for a split second, but then her face resumed its normal subservience, and she bowed low to Liara. "Very well." She disappeared into the chamber with the agent. Liara heard the dull sawing sounds begin, and she put on some music to drown out the noise.

 _Everything I do will be worth it in the end. Not just for Feron. The Shadow Broker has manipulated and ruined countless lives. Stopping him is all that matters._

Her hand froze, and it took the conscious part of her mind a second to realize what she was looking at on her monitor. _Shepard…he is alive. They actually did it._ The overwhelming joy that accompanied the news of the resurrection of her friend was quickly squashed by a wave of dread. She yearned to reach out to them, to let them know where she was. The last time she had had direct contact with anyone from the Normandy was when she'd retrieved Shepard's body on Omega and run into Garrus. She could really use their help as well; this task she'd set herself upon did not yield many friends and certainly no one she could trust implicitly.

But she couldn't. Her guilt over keeping Cerberus' plans for Shepard a secret weighed on her soul like an anchor. _I am sure they have their own mission. There is no need to trouble them with my problems._ She did, however, make a note to keep an eye on their travels and to provide any support she could offer anonymously. _He named it the Normandy…of course he did._ A tear escaped her eye as she thought of all the adventures they'd had together, and she quickly checked on the information feed for Ashley and Wrex: there were no new developments.

She took a deep breath and got back to work, forcing thoughts of her friends far from her mind. The hours blurred together, and it felt like only a couple of minutes had gone by when she donned the scarf waiting for her on Nyxeris' desk. She also put on a heavy jacket and pulled the hood down low. The Shadow Broker knew she was looking for him, and it wouldn't do to be recognized by her mark before they approached. It was likely that the Shadow Broker had not divulged her information to this agent, as they preferred to only tell people what they needed to know, but one could never be too careful.

Liara reached the small side street and stepped out of her skycar. She slowly walked along the sidewalk, looking into shop windows periodically to blend in. She was acutely aware of everyone within a thirty-foot radius of her, and she maintained an invisible barrier around her as well as the shield unit she had strapped to her waist underneath her jacket. Nothing happened for the next half hour, and she started to get impatient as she made her second pass down the alley. _Something is not right. I am the only one wearing a scarf in this vicinity, let alone a red scarf. Either I got played, or they know. I need to get out of here._

She abruptly changed direction and wove her way through the crowd as she headed back to her vehicle. The time for subtlety was over: if she could draw out whoever was watching, maybe she could still leave with her prize.

She felt the drain on her barrier before she heard the sound of the gunshot. The shield she had was barely enough to deter the bullet after it ripped through her biotics, but they held. People started screaming and running for shelter, and Liara dove behind a nearby taxi. _That was a non-lethal shot. If they were ordered not to kill me, that gives me the upper hand._

She took off her scarf and wrapped part of it around her fist. She waited for a couple of seconds, then she flung the end of it over the top of her cover. As expected, someone shot at the sudden movement, and she was able to place the approximate position of her attacker. "Nyxeris."

"Yes?"

"I need to you give me the access key for a Rhycon, license plate H98B-98PT." Liara chanced a peek over the front of the skycar, and she saw the muzzle flash before she ducked back down, a bullet hole in the wall behind her. _Perhaps I overestimated the importance of taking me in alive._

"Done. Is everything alright, ma'am?"

"It will be." Liara transferred control of the car over to her omnitool after she entered the access code. The vehicle roared to life, and the metal frame rose slowly to hover about a foot off the ground. Keeping the engine block between her and the shooter, she pushed the car forward with her biotics, gaining speed as she maneuvered her way towards where she saw the flash of light. She heard someone cursing and a shuffle of movement when she neared her destination. In a burst of energy, she picked up the skycar, rotated it so that the headlights were pointed up at the clouds, and sent it careening into the fire-escape. A cry of pain told her she'd struck true, and she leapt over the wreckage in search of her prey.

A turian lay next to the overturned car, her leg pinned beneath the frame and her gun several yards away. Liara closed the distance and pulled out her gun, the large silencer at the end of it pointing directly at the wounded assailant. "How did you know I was coming? Who tipped you off?"

"Well, shit." The turian glanced at her rifle lying far out of reach. "Don't suppose I have much choice. I'm not much into torture, so let's just get this over with."

"Fine by me."

"We knew you'd picked up the carrier, so that's how we created this setup for you-"

"I know you knew, obviously," Liara said impatiently. "What I need to know is how you found out."

The turian scratched her chin. "That name…it was something fancy, what was it? Oh-"

Her head jerked back, and the turian collapsed to the ground. Liara whipped around and shot at the shadow on the rooftop, but it was much too far away to accurately hit anything with a pistol. It vanished before she finished pulling the trigger for the third time.

"Damn it!" she yelled, kicking the side of the car. "I was close to something, I know it!"

She radioed to Nyxeris once more. "I need you to work a little overtime tonight. I have a body that I need an ID for, and we will probably have to pay off the police again."

"Of course, ma'am. Whatever you need."


	14. Chapter 14: Purgatory

**Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting last week, I had a case of busy life mixed with writer's block. Thank you for being patient with me!**

* * *

The needle pierced Jack's neck before she even noticed the person standing behind her. She immediately spun around and let her fist collide with the guard's cheek, using her biotics to enhance her speed and send him flying up into the bathroom stall with the blow. He groaned, but Jack watched in disbelief as he slowly got up onto his knees. _That should have splattered him._ She tried to pick him up, but the glow around her hand spluttered and faded after a brief flicker of light. "What did you to do to me, you motherfucking piece of shit?!"

She felt her arms get pinned behind her as more people appeared in the dimly lit restroom. She kicked her feet and screamed with fury, calling them every name under the sun and making up a few of her own, but it was no use; whatever they had stuck her with, it quickly drained her of her energy until all she could do was glare at her assailants. It was a motley mix of fellow prisoners and guards, and their leers filled her with revulsion. Pure rage coursed through her veins as they ripped her clothes off and started using her body, pleasuring themselves as she lay there helpless. She'd been through this shit before, but that didn't make the situation any less horrifying. Her body mostly numb, she blocked out the scene unfolding around her and focused on committing each of their faces to memory. _I will tear apart every last fucking one of you. I will rip out your guts and let you choke on your own shit._

A few tears slipped through her iron will, streaking down the side of her face as she was ravaged over and over again. _NO! What kind of pussy ass bitch are you? You take it, you give it back twice as bad. You don't cry like a stupid, fucking kid._

One of the guards standing near her head grinned maliciously. "That's what you get for killing one of ours." A large boot crashed into Jack's face, smashing her nose and covering her in blood. "Looks better that way."

"Careful. She's worth a lot of money to the boss."

"That don't mean we can't have a little fun with the bitch." He crouched next to her and leaned in close. "You probably like it, don't you?"

Jack summoned every ounce of anger and jerked her head towards the man. With the last of her strength, she clamped her teeth around his nose and bit. Hard.

He pulled back with a loud yell, and Jack felt a large chunk of flesh tear off in her mouth. She let it fall out of her almost paralyzed lips, watching with satisfaction as the guard reeled back clutching the bleeding hole where his nose used to be.

Several of the bones in her left hand snapped under someone's heel. "I'LL KILL HER! I'LL FUCKING KILL HER!"

Though she was beaten within an inch of her life, Jack never fell unconscious. She refused to allow herself, taking in every wave of pain as a reminder of how much she was going to make them hurt. _They will all pay. Soon._

* * *

"Why the hell are we picking up a convicted criminal? There have got to be better options."

Miranda swiped through a few documents on her screen. "Jack is rumored to be one of the most powerful human biotics ever, rivaling that of an asari. Cerberus has managed to negotiate a deal with the prison he is currently being held on. I doubt you'll be able to find anyone willing to join up with us on a suicide mission with his amount of biotic power."

Shepard crossed his arms. "It doesn't matter how good they are at fighting if I can't trust them. What's to stop this Jack from running off the first time we dock after picking him up? Or sabotaging us in the middle of a mission?"

"Trust me, Jack won't be able to simply slip out of our reach without us knowing. As far as betraying us, the Illusive Man assures me that we will be able to provide the proper incentives to retain his loyalty. If not, I'm sure we will be able to deal with a single rogue element."

"I don't like it. Do we know why he's in prison?"

"No. There's very little on his file, actually. Just a first name, some descriptions about his power, and the fact that he is being held by the Blue Suns on the prison ship Purgatory. No list of formal charges."

Shepard frowned. "The Blue Suns operate a prison? Shouldn't most of them be in prison?"

Miranda shrugged. "This is outside of Council jurisdiction. People make up their own rules out here."

Shepard chewed his lip. "Maybe Jack is in there under false charges, then. Maybe not. Whatever, we'll give it a shot and see how it goes, but I do not want Jack free to just roam the ship. Strict supervision until I get to know him."

"Understood, Commander."

* * *

Shepard walked over to Garrus while they waited for the airlock procedure to terminate. "You sure you're up for this? You still look pretty messed up."

"You're one to talk," he retorted. "Half of your face is just glowing orange wire. Did Cerberus forget what a human looks like?"

"Ha ha."

"I'm being serious," Garrus continued, his voice anything but serious. "You're lucky I took this rocket blast. Gives you a fighting chance with the ladies."

"Oh really? Who has a girlfriend currently, despite being dead for the last two years?"

The turian shook his head sadly. "That will never cease to amaze me. Poor Tali. I keep trying to come up with some sort of explanation as to why she's stooping so low, but it defies all logic."

Shepard laughed. "Alright. If you're feeling so full of wit and sarcasm this morning, I guess we can let you take the frontlines. Just in case anything goes wrong. I want my strongest people right in the thick of it, after all."

Garrus coughed into his fist. "You know, maybe I am feeling a bit down…"

"Ah yes, I forgot that missile injuries cause coughing."

Miranda and Jacob exchanged glances at the banter but decided against remarking on it.

There was an overwhelming air of cleanliness inside the prison reminiscent of the Presidium on the Citadel. Shepard had expected a rather ramshackle collection of corridors and makeshift cells; the pristine atmosphere and professional, spotless décor was off-putting.

Jacob whistled. "Guess we know where the Blue Suns get their money, or at least some of it. Didn't realize the prison industry was so profitable."

"No kidding." The Commander inspected the two guards moving forward to meet them. Their armor gleamed as brightly as the polished floors, and they gave him a respectful nod.

"Commander Shepard. We are pleased to have you on our vessel. If you would kindly release your weapons to us, Warden Kuril will take you to oversee the transfer of your package."

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "I don't think so. Whatever this facility is, it's being run by a group of mercenaries that I've had a few run-ins with. I'm sure you understand why I won't just hand you my guns."

The guard who had spoken earlier stiffened. "It is common protocol, sir. This is a prison; we cannot allow guests to enter armed."

Shepard shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, buddy. We can wait here for Jack to be brought out, but we aren't going in without our weapons. End of story."

The guard twitched, and instantly six guns and a glowing fist were raised. "Do you really want to do this?" Shepard asked impatiently. "If this turns into a shit-show, I can guarantee you the only thing that will happen is the two of you will see the inside of a body bag."

"Don't worry though, you'll still be alive. We just enjoy showing people what body bags look like; they're actually rather interesting." Garrus received a withering glare from Shepard.

"Stand down!" An imposing figure glided across the hall, his face impassive. "We can give some allowances to such generous customers. I'm sure we are more than equipped to handle four armed individuals should the need arise."

The guards hastily holstered their weapons and saluted the turian. Strangely, he did not possess any markings on his face; Shepard had never seen a turian without any colored designs, and the plain, brown carapace made him feel uneasy.

"I am Warden Kuril. If you'll follow me to out-processing, we can sort out the final part of your transaction." Giving a small smile that never reached his eyes, the Warden turned around and led them further into the facility.

"So…what made the Blue Suns decide to operate a giant, floating space prison in the first place? It's a bit weird, isn't it? Considering the murder and the smuggling and such that other parts of your organization do?"

Kuril stopped to give Shepard a cold stare. "We may be funded by the Blue Suns, but this is my ship. We run things by my rules, keeping the galaxy safe from the worst scum it has to offer. Everyone imprisoned on this vessel has inflicted unspeakable horrors; they deserve far worse than we give them."

Shepard looked out the window, watching as two prisoners started pushing against each other. Immediately, balls of light shot out from a couple of nearby pylons, separating the instigators with a telekinetic barrier. "What's Jack in here for, then?"

Kuril's detached demeanor slipped for a second. "They didn't tell you? Jack is the meanest bit of malice and violence I've ever seen, coupled with way too much biotic power. We had to put them in cryo after they slaughtered seven of my guards and fellow prisoners."

Shepard glowered at Miranda. "You hear that? Jack murdered seven people _after_ they got here. Definitely seems like the kind of person we want on our team."

The Warden shrugged. "They're your problem now. I'm going to check that the funds have gone through. Out-processing is just through that door; I'll meet you on your way out." He peered intently at Shepard for a few seconds before darting off in the opposite direction, his shoulders held high with self-importance.

"There's something not quite right about him," Garrus murmured.

"I agree." Miranda gestured at the silver devices entrapping the inmates below. "Let's be sure to keep away from any of those, just in case."

"We might want to buy one from them for Jack," Shepard added pointedly. "He sounds like trouble."

Miranda cocked an eyebrow at him. "How many people have you killed, Shepard? Or you, Vakarian?"

"That's different, and you know it. We've had good reasons."

"Maybe, and maybe Jack had good reasons too. Like you said, this prison is being run by mercenaries; I'm just suggesting that we give him a chance."

"I know," Shepard sighed. "We've been through this already. But for the record, I am liking this less by the minute."

Garrus cleared his throat as they started traversing the halls once more. "And it's just Garrus. Vakarian makes me feel like I'm back in C-Sec, and I'd rather not be called that if we're going to be working together for a while."

Miranda's eyes flickered over the turian. "Alright. Garrus." Her stare lingered on the vigilante for a moment before she turned back around.

Shepard smiled knowingly at Garrus, who snorted in amusement and shook his head. "I know what you're thinking. Don't even go there; that's not what's happening."

"Sure, sure."

When they entered the room labeled 'Out-processing', there was only one employee standing at a terminal on the wall. "It's just through there," the guard said, pointing to the small door at the end of the large office area. It was placed strangely in the corner, giving a slightly off-kilter impression that was jarring in comparison with the rest of the perfectly constructed station.

Shepard strode over to it, his hands hovering near his weapons as they approached. "Be careful. Something's up, I can feel it." The door opened, and Shepard took a couple of steps inside before he realized it was a dead end. The metal exterior slammed shut, and Miranda rolled out of the way just in time to escape the containment cell. Shepard, however, was soundly locked away.

"Damn. How did none of us notice it was a trap until I was already halfway into the stupid thing?"

"It looked like there was another door; I thought it was simply a connector section." Jacob at least had the decency to look sheepish: Garrus was grinning unabashedly from the other side.

"So, what are you in for? Stealing? Murder? Parking ticket?"

"Shut up."

"The great Commander Shepard, destroyer of Reapers and hero of the Citadel, undone by a little trap. An obvious one, too. Who willingly walks into a box like that?"

"Fuck you, Garrus."

Miranda inspected the door, but shook her head in exasperation. "It can't be hacked from here. We'll need to find the central control unit to unlock him."

Shepard pressed his face against the glass. "What, can't we try shooting it or blasting it off at least?"

She shook her head. "Bullet proof, and explosives could make the container detach from this room. We can't take that risk until it's our last resort."

Kuril's voice resonated over the loudspeaker. "I'm sorry to renege on our deal, but there are certain entities who would pay a great deal of money for you, Shepard. Tell your friends to lay down their weapons, and we will let them go peacefully."

Shepard opened up a channel to the Normandy. "EDI, lock the ship and don't let anyone on that isn't us. Let Mordin and Zaeed know what's happening and tell them to be on standby."

"Yes, Shepard."

He looked at his three teammates standing outside the cell. "What are you still doing here? Go and find the thing!"

Miranda rolled her eyes and strutted away, Jacob trailing close behind. Garrus gave him a reassuring nod. "We'll get you out."

Shepard's head smacked into the metal frame as the box suddenly disconnected from the wall. His sense of balance was thrown way off by the strange sensation of having the floor move underneath him while his container transitioned from the holding station to what he assumed would be solitary or something of that sort. "Please get this thing unlocked before I get wherever I'm going. I have a feeling it won't be pleasant."

Kuril spoke from a small speaker in the roof of his cell. "I'm sorry about this, Shepard. No hard feelings, just business."

"Honestly, I'm not even surprised at this point. Although, if I were you, I would kill me right now. People who make me their enemy have a tendency of ending up dead."

"We'll see."

* * *

Garrus stalked through the entrance to the control room, the hall behind him ablaze with sparks from ruined mechs and splatters of blood from the few foolish guards that had gotten in his way. A man whirled around as he entered, his clothes clearly marking him as administration. He pulled out a small pistol and started firing wildly, missing every shot. "They're here! Send backup, imme-"

Garrus didn't bother using his scope from that short range, blowing out the man's chest with a casual shot from his hip. His body flew into the glass behind him, creating a spiderweb of cracks with the impact. "Alright, how do we get him out of there?"

Miranda brushed passed and started messing with the control panel. "I can't find anyway to pinpoint which cell is his. Shepard, can you see a number or some sort of identifying script?"

"Uh…it's greyish."

"Bloody hell, now is not the time for your jokes, Shepard!" Miranda paced in front of the panel, her brow furrowed as she considered her options. "If we don't know which cell is his, then…we'll simply have to open them all."

"What?" Jacob asked incredulously. "There are some seriously bad people in here. Are we really going to let them all loose?"

"We're on an isolated space station. I'm sure it has all of the proper protocols to deal with such an incident. The chaos might give us the chance we need to get back to the Normandy; they'll be too busy dealing with the prison escape."

"Besides, it's Shepard," Garrus added. "We can't leave him behind."

"Aw, thanks buddy."

"As tempting as that may seem sometimes," he continued with an eyeroll.

"That'll let Jack out too, right? Where is he, can you tell?"

Miranda glanced over the screens. "Actually…he's right here. Down below, in the cryo chambers."

Garrus nodded. "Okay, so we'll grab Jack after all hell breaks loose and then try to find Shepard. Let's do it."

Miranda typed a few things into the keyboard. "Okay. It should be happening…now. Shepard, is your cell opening?"

"Yeah, that did it! Shit…it stopped the thing pushing my cell along too. I'll find a way down somehow."

EDI tapped into their radio. "I have mapped the optimal route back to the ship, Shepard. Please note that this route may be subject to change due to any structural damage that could occur during the conflict between the prisoners and the guards."

"Thanks EDI."

The cryo cell below them hissed, and the human sized tube slowly rose from the floor. Garrus pointed at the three YMIR mechs scattered throughout the holding chamber; they were all turning to look at the unexpected release of the individual they were no doubt tasked with guarding. "We should get the drop on them while they're distracted. Jack won't stand a chance if we don't help."

"Right." Miranda moved to the door, her fingers on the handle as she assessed the enemy. "Let's wait until they are about to engage him; it'll give us the best odds of getting through them unscathed."

Jacob blinked rapidly as the tube came to a halt. "Huh. Guess Jack is a girl. Without a shirt. Hm."

"Focus up, Jacob."

"Sorry, sorry."

* * *

Air trickled into Jack's lungs as her body started to thaw, sending a searing pain through her muscles as they became acutely aware of the cold. She fought her way through it and forced her frozen eyelids open, squinting as her surroundings gradually came into focus. When she saw the giant mechs, she tried to jerk her head forward, only to find her neck constrained by a metal ring. Snarling, she ripped her arms out of their respective restraints like they were made of paper and tugged at the collar, snapping it easily. The lights in the YMIR mechs turned red when they recognized the hostile threat. Jack grinned. _Only three? Child's play._

Even though she was far from done with recovering from cryo, she ignored the stiffness caused by her icy prison and leapt towards the nearest mech. She channeled her biotics through her feet, sending her rocketing straight at the giant machine with incredible speed. Her fist buried itself up to her shoulder in the thing, toppling it over with a single blow. She cackled as a rush of adrenaline shook off some of the soreness, and her mind was flooded with that wonderful sensation she only felt in battle.

She tore off a leg from her fallen foe and wielded it like a giant bat, crashing into a second YMIR and smashing it several times into the downed mech until the metal splintered apart. By this time, the third had begun firing at her, and she dove out of the way of the missile that finished off her second opponent. With only one target left, she charged straight at it, heedless of the bullets flying all around her. She screamed in triumph and rage as she reached it, putting all of her fury into a single punch. The mech was lifted off the ground, flying far across the room until it collided with the wall some forty feet away. With a sad warble, the YMIR's lights slowly faded, and it remained affixed to the wall, its feet dangling a few inches off the ground. Jack let out a soft moan of delight and licked her lips. "Fuck yeah."

She didn't stop to question why she'd been let out. She saw some people staring at her from up on the balcony and decided to make her own path; while she loved killing, she wanted to be free more. During her stay on Purgatory, she had memorized every path that would lead her to the docking area. She ran over to the wall where the mech was fused to and blasted apart an adjacent panel, revealing a maintenance passage to a different part of the facility. A couple of guards jumped in surprise at the unexpected appearance of a new hole in their breakroom. Jack sent a surge of energy along the floor, exploding up underneath the guards. Their heads collided with the ceiling with a sharp crack. She caught them before they fell and slammed them against every available surface until they no longer resembled humans. She let the unrecognizable lumps of flesh fall to the ground, feeling more alive than she had in months. The brutal display would have been taxing on any normal biotic; luckily for her, she wasn't a normal biotic. Every act of violence and power only made her feel stronger, and she laughed as she came flying out of the maintenance shaft into gen pop.

Guards and prisoners were fighting desperately to gain the upper hand; while the guards had weapons and armor, there were simply too few of them to handle the overwhelming amount of bodies surging their way. Jack didn't care about helping her fellow inmates. If she had her way, everyone on this godforsaken ship would die by her hands. _Guess I'll just have to settle for these shitheads._ The room stilled for a moment as they all turned to look at the source of the horrible screeching of metal being torn asunder. Jack bared her teeth, her nose bleeding slightly as she held the bridge over her head. "Hey fuckfaces! Catch!"

* * *

Garrus gaped at the destruction below, unable to process how quickly Jack had taken out three whole YMIR mechs on her own. "Uh…do we pursue?"

Miranda considered the sad state of the giant mechs. "No. Jack is clearly out of control right now. She'd probably try to kill us before we could say anything. Let's circle back and try to meet up with Shepard."

The station rumbled ominously, and a cool, automated voice announced that sectors 9, 13, and 27 were offline. "The path you took to the control room has been compromised. Your best option would be to follow Jack through to general population," EDI informed them.

"Okay." Garrus tightened his grip on his rifle. "Let's try not to piss her off if we catch up."

He grimaced when they encountered the mangled bodies of a couple guards in the small hallway. Their faces appeared to be some grotesque, half-congealed soup that had been left out in the sun for too long. _Poor bastards. If she so much as blinks at us wrong, I'm blowing her head off._

They stepped through the second hole made by Jack just in time to see the crazed biotic disappear through the far end of the room. Half of a steel bridge was firmly wedged against a wall, and the blood pattern indicated that several people had been crushed by it. A few large fires were raging unchecked across the wide area, and people were fighting everywhere. There was a clear path straight down the middle where Jack had carved her way through, but it was quickly being filled back up as the prisoners attempted to wrest control of the guns away from the guards.

Garrus exchanged his sniper for his assault rifle, and Jacob readied his shotgun. They huddled together in a tight group and quickly shuffled their way through the mess, struggling to avoid attention while they moved along. If anyone decided to mess with them, Miranda and Jacob turned them away with a display of biotics. The few who persisted were decisively blown away, and they weaved their way through with relative ease. The guards took one look at the well-armed group and decided to leave them alone, focusing their efforts on the rioting inmates.

Garrus stopped short as he came through to the next area. The hiss and crack of electricity permeated the room, fizzing through the air from three separate pylons and converging on a large bubble in the corner. Warden Kuril was standing inside on a raised platform, pointing at Jack as she sprinted towards one of the energy sources. "Take them down, but I want them alive! They're worth more than the lot of you!"

Kuril noticed them a second later and sneered. "That group, however, is disposable."

"Is that all you care about?" Garrus shouted. "Money? How much people are worth?"

"Without those funds, this facility cannot function. We keep the galaxy safe from maniacs like her! It is necessary."

"This isn't a prison. It's an extortion company. Everyone who died here today is on your hands because you only saw a giant paycheck when you heard Shepard's name."

Jack had successfully destroyed one of the pylons, but she was pinned down behind some crates by a couple of heavy turrets. Garrus motioned at the nearest structure. "The way out is behind Kuril, through that bubble. We have to take him down. Let's get to it."

There was an unspoken friction between him and Miranda as soon as he assumed command of the squad, but she backed down without comment and began tossing warps at the metal pole. _Good to know that she can swallow her pride when she needs to. I didn't mean to start barking orders…it just sort of happened._

Garrus whipped his sniper out and shot without thinking, exploding the head of a guard who had just appeared through a doorway behind Jack. He made eye-contact with the heavily tattooed woman; she didn't nod, but he knew they had reached some sort of truce. He started whittling away at the turrets while Miranda and Jacob peppered the pylons with little orbs. Jack almost looked bored, lazily sitting on one knee and tossing a few unstable attacks at the large door where new guards showed up every few seconds. By the time Garrus took out the last turret forcing her to remain hidden, the other two had finished destroying the structural integrity of the last pylon. Jack stood up and cracked her neck. "About fucking time."

* * *

Shepard stood with his arms crossed, waiting for the seemingly interminable elevator trip to end. Soft, classical bongo music was playing in the background, often interrupted with the automated announcer reporting yet another section of Purgatory that lost life-support. According to EDI, this elevator that he had found shortly after jumping out of his cell was the only way back to the docks that was still intact.

The box shuddered to a halt as another tremor racked the doomed station. Shepard waited a few seconds to see if it would come back on; when nothing happened, he slammed his fist against the control panel, hoping to kick start something back to life. To his relief, the elevator continued its arduous descent, though the lights remained non-functional, leaving him shrouded in darkness. However, the bongo music returned in all of its glory. He sighed.

* * *

Jack advanced on the Warden, throwing body after body at him every time he poked his head above cover. She didn't know who these other people were, and she sure as hell didn't trust them. They might have a ride out of here, though. _Whatever. One thing at a time._

She wanted to just rip his little ledge out from under him, but she was running low on juice. She might have gone a little overboard with the bridge stunt. When she was close enough, she yanked Kuril out over his railing. The turian had been expecting it, and a sniper round sliced through her upper thigh. She screamed in rage as the same type of poison that had paralyzed her before began seeping through her right leg. Kuril dropped like a stone when she let him go, his leg popping as he landed at a strange angle. "Fine," she panted. "I'll just kill you with this."

She pulled out a shotgun she had stolen from one of her previous victims, pumping a round into the chamber. Kuril dragged himself desperately over to where his rifle had fallen, but Jack reached him first, stomping his outstretched hand into the ground. "I bet that hurts," she leered, twisting her heel until the bones cracked. She glanced at the group of strangers approaching them with expressions ranging from distaste to disdain. "Sorry, I've got company. Gotta end this early." She placed the barrel against his skull and pulled the trigger.

She spat on the puddle of blue blood, skull bits, and brains. "Motherfucker."

The turian member of her new group of 'friends' stepped forward. "You're Jack, right?"

Jack's eyes locked onto the symbol planted on the humans' uniforms. "Oh, fuck me. You're Cerberus?"

The woman inclined her head. "My name is Miranda Lawson. We came here to help you get off this prison. We're embarking on a dangerous mission-"

"Can someone tell the Cerberus bitch to shut up?" Jack started pacing, though it was a little difficult with the bullet wound in her leg. "I'm not going with Cerberus. I don't care you the fuck you are or what you want."

"Do you have any other options?" The turian leaned back against a crate. "This place is coming apart, and we've got the only ship out of here. The only one that's powered up and ready to go, and has a crew to pilot it at least. And for the record, I don't like Cerberus either."

Jack scowled at Miranda and the other human, hatred etched onto every surface of her face. "How do I know I can trust you? Last time I met some of your bunch, they were trying to kill me. Before that…doesn't matter. Point is, Cerberus is in to some fucked up shit. I'm not getting on a Cerberus ship."

Miranda set her jaw. "We could knock her out and lock her in the brig."

"I'd like to see you try," Jack snarled, pointing her shotgun at the smug bitch.

"Easy," the turian said, casually keeping his rifle aimed in her direction. "It's not technically a Cerberus ship. Commander Shepard, the guy who's in charge, isn't Cerberus. Look, we're meeting him at the docking bay. He can explain whatever you need to know there, and then you can decide if you want to come with us or stay on this scrapheap until it explodes."

 _I don't really have a choice. Fine. I'll play along for now, but I'm bolting the first chance I get._ "Fine."


	15. Chapter 15: Uneasy Welcome

**Hey everyone! Sorry again for the late update, I had another struggle trying to write this chapter and capture a reasonable way to not have Shepard and Jack murder each other during their first meeting. I know the introduction in the last chapter was rough, but I wanted to accurately portray the horrible things Jack went through before becoming a member of the Normandy. She had a terrible life, and I thought that incident she suffered through on Purgatory accurately represented it without being overly detailed. Anyways, enough about that. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Shepard stared at the woman on the other side of the conference room, neither of them saying anything as the Normandy flew away from the remnants of Purgatory. Her eyes darted between him, Miranda, and Garrus, her lips curled into a faint snarl. _What have I gotten myself into._

Jack was clearly running on fumes, which is one of the reasons Shepard allowed her to come on board in the first place. There wasn't any time for a proper interrogation with the station crumbling around them, but someone who could destroy three YMIR mechs on her own immediately after waking up from cryo was a force to be reckoned with, and not one he wanted loose on his ship with questionable motives and loyalty. The way her body was tensed like a tightly wound coil reminded him of a cornered animal: she knew they could take her down right now, and she wouldn't be able to stop them. Desperation had brought her here, and he hoped it wouldn't make her do anything stupid.

"Well, you haven't locked me up yet," Jack said, finally breaking the silence. "That's a fucking surprise."

"I said I wouldn't. I keep my word."

Jack snorted but didn't voice her obvious disbelief. "What do you want?"

Miranda clasped her hands behind her back. "We are putting together a team to take down the Collectors. They have been abducting colonists from various locations, and they need to be stopped. They are a threat to humanity-"

"Holy shit, is there an off button? I wasn't talking to you."

"Very well," Miranda said, pursing her lips. "Why don't you go ahead, Commander?"

 _Yeah, Commander, why don't you go ahead and convince the psychotic criminal how going against suicidal odds in order to save the galaxy is a good idea?_ He doubted Jack would respond well to any kind of moral sentiment. He needed to find out what she wanted and use that as leverage. If they could secure her aid, her strength would be an invaluable asset.

"Okay, here's the deal. You're a powerful biotic, and we could really use someone like you on the ground team. Only problem is, I can't trust you not to try and mutiny or stab one of us in the back because I don't know anything about you."

"I don't know shit about you either. How do I know this isn't another Cerberus trap?"

"If we wanted to kill you, we would have left you on the station," Garrus interjected. "If we wanted to capture you, we would have knocked you out with something by now. Locked you up, like you said before. Besides, if you know anything about Cerberus, then you know I'm not part of them. Just a bit too alien for their tastes."

"Cerberus logo, Cerberus ship, and a fucking Cerberus cheerleader. Seems pretty Cerberus to me."

"It's a means to an end." Shepard's brows pinched together. "Why do you hate Cerberus so much?"

"Because they're messed up fucks who…" Shepard watched Jack's face contort with emotion before she moved on. "It doesn't matter. That's my business."

"You know, I'm not exactly buddy-buddy with Cerberus myself. They were the reason I lost my entire unit on Akuze."

"That was an isolated splinter group," Miranda stated coolly. "It was an unsanctioned experiment, and the responsible parties were disbanded."

"Isn't Cerberus labelled as some sort of pro-human splinter group?" Garrus shrugged. "Just saying."

"Regardless," Shepard continued, raking his eyes across his two comrades and subduing their interruption, "is there something we could offer you? Money? Information?"

"What kind of information?" Jack asked a little too quickly.

"I don't know for sure, but the ship must have access to Cerberus files."

"We are not going to let this woman peruse private Cerberus data," Miranda said in clipped tones. "She clearly does not wish us well, and I will not sanction divulging anything to a criminal we cannot trust."

"Get over yourself, bitch. Cerberus is worse than I could ever dream of being." Jack thrust her chin up aggressively.

"Cerberus is working for the greater good-"

"Greater good?! Torturing little kids is the greater good?" Jack threw her chair into the wall with a forceful jerk from her hand. "That is bullshit."

"I don't know what-"

"Bullshit."

"If you-"

"Bullshit."

"I-"

"Bull. Shit." A smile flickered over Jack's face for a split second as Miranda, for the first time that Shepard had ever seen, began to lose her composure. Her face began to flush in anger, and her fists curled into tight balls. _Uh oh._

"She's not going to be of any help, Shepard. We should be rid of her, the sooner the better."

"Try it. Unless you're too much of a pussy."

"With pleasure."

Shepard stepped in front of Miranda, keeping her from attempting to smear Jack on the wall with her glowing arms. "Miranda! Get a hold of yourself; she's just egging you on, and you're falling for it. She didn't even say that much, really. Are you alright?" He peered into her eyes, confused and slightly concerned about the mental state of his XO.

"I'm…fine. I apologize."

Jack laughed jeeringly at Miranda, a malicious sparkle in her eyes as she continued antagonizing Miranda. "He's got you on a leash, huh? Be a good girl and sit down, bitch."

"Jack," Shepard said warningly. _This won't be a problem later, I'm sure._ "Nobody has to like anybody else here, but there will be no fighting on this ship. If you're going to be on the team, I need to know that you can control yourself."

"If we work something out, I'll play nice. Can't speak for the cheerleader, though."

The tiny glimpse of genuine rage had slipped behind Miranda's usual detached mask. "It won't be a problem, Commander."

"Okay. Now, if we offer you full access to the databases we have available, would that be sufficient motivation to stick around?"

Jack licked her lips greedily. "Good enough for now."

Shepard glanced back at Miranda, but she appeared unaffected by Shepard's proposition. "If you ever want to leave, just say so and leave. We won't try to stop you. It would be a smoother departure than betraying us, and I feel like killing you would be quite a chore."

"Damn straight."

"Let me know if you find what you're looking for: maybe we can help each other. Anything that gives me some leverage on Cerberus is welcome, no offense Miranda."

"None taken. I'll make sure Jack gets the files."

Shepard walked around the table, moving within a couple feet of Jack. She recoiled slightly at his approach, hunching into a fighting stance as her eyes darted around the room with erratic fervor. He ignored her behavior, extending a hand in her direction. "So, does this seem agreeable? We could really use someone like you. Just so you know, I'm going to have EDI, our ship's AI, monitoring you for a while until I can be more certain that you'll stick around. If you try to run away with the data, she will wipe it and any backup drives you make clean. Right, EDI?"

"Acknowledged."

His hand was still hovering in the air between them. "What do you think?"

Jack considered his hand suspiciously for a moment before hesitantly taking it. "Fine. If you fuck with me, though, I'll kill every person on this ship and their families to boot."

In an instant, Shepard had a knife at Jack's throat and her arm pinned painfully between him and the table. "Let's get one thing straight. You might be an all-powerful biotic badass, but if you threaten me or my crew, you will be put down." Jack snarled at him, but her protests stopped short as he pressed the blade deeper into her skin, drawing a sliver of blood. "Are we clear?"

"Yes."

For some reason, Jack elicited feelings of pity in Shepard. She had clearly been through some rough times, and those experiences had left her scarred. It wasn't difficult to surmise that Cerberus was likely the source of her pain, and that was something Shepard could empathize with. Looking at her now, her face alight with barely contained fury and devoid of any trace of fear, he saw the potential for a great warrior buried beneath the broken shell. He would be careful, but he would give Jack a chance. _Just one chance. I'm not sure we would survive long enough to give her a second._

"Good." He released her and turned away, slipping his knife back into its sheath as he made for the door with a slow, measured pace. "Miranda will see you to your quarters and the data. Garrus, could you follow me please?"

Garrus had the tact to wait until they were in the elevator to voice his concerns. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Me too," Shepard chuckled. "There's something about Jack; I don't know, I just feel like maybe we can help her."

"Help her? Does she look like she needs anybody's help?"

"Yes," Shepard said simply.

"Whatever you say." Shepard could tell from Garrus' tone that he disagreed. _He did spend the last two years hunting down criminals and executing them without trial. Jack would likely fall under the same category as Garm and Jaroth in his eyes._

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

Garrus shifted his feet and looked at the ground. "If it were up to me, Jack would be under lock and key ready to be dropped off at the next station. However, even though I don't trust her at all, I trust your judgement. There were several things I would have done differently when we were chasing Saren, and I would have been wrong about them. Wrex would probably be dead right now if I was in charge. If your gut is telling you to keep Jack on the ground team, I think you should go with it."

Shepard smiled. "Thanks, Garrus. It means a lot to hear you say that."

"Alright, this is getting too mushy and deep for me. Let's go check in on Tali; that's where you were going, right?"

His cheeks glowed slightly at Garrus' accurate assumption. "You read my mind."

* * *

Tali immediately brightened up when she saw Shepard and Garrus come into the medbay. "Where have you been?! I sent both of you a dozen messages after the station exploded!"

"Sorry, we were…dealing with our newest team member."

"Really? What's he like"

"She."

"Okay, fine, what's she like?" Tali asked impatiently.

"She's a handful." Garrus flopped down onto a bed, laying back with his fingers laced behind his head. "I'm betting we're going to have to kill her within the week."

"Oh."

"It won't come to that," Shepard insisted. "Probably."

"That bad, huh?" She saw the anxiety etched in Shepard's face and squeezed his arm. "I'm sure it will be fine."

Tali was not sure it would be fine. However, she could tell that Shepard had made up his mind about Jack, and she would reserve judgement until they had met at the very least. It didn't seem like either of them wanted to discuss the new recruit, so she happily changed the subject and berated both of them for not responding to her pings. They meekly waited for her to run out of steam, nodding occasionally to pretend like they were listening. She wasn't actually that upset, but all of her pent-up energy from being trapped in one room for days needed a place to vent.

Eventually, she stopped and pulled Shepard down into a hug. "I hate not being out there when you're out there. It makes me worry so much."

"I know," he said soothingly. "You'll be better soon."

She looked him square in the eye. "You're not going to start leaving me behind now, are you?"

He glanced away. "No, not…not all the time."

"John," she said crossly. "If it makes strategical sense to leave me behind, I won't argue, but if you start doing it just to protect me, Keelah I will take my own team and let you be stuck on the ship worrying about me."

Garrus laughed as Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yes. Garrus will come with me, won't you Garrus?"

"Uh uh. I'm staying out of this."

"Hmph." Tali traced small circles on Shepard's chest, enjoying having her two closest friends nearby. Despite being serious about ensuring Shepard didn't start getting noble and protective on her, most of this conversation was purely for the fun of talking with Shepard and Garrus. She frowned as she thought of the turian joining Shepard on Purgatory even with his grievous injuries. "How come Garrus got to go with you this time? He looks terrible."

"Ouch," Garrus said, rubbing the side of his face. "I've changed my mind. I'm on 'John's' side now."

Shepard shook his head vigorously. "Nope. You are not calling me by my first name."

"Why not? You call me by my first name."

"It's just…it's different. Tali is the only one who calls me that."

"Oh, I see. It's like a V.I.P. ticket; you can't blow the horn unless you're riding the train." Garrus' eyes widened, and he instantly started backpedaling. "That metaphor went to a dark place. It was supposed to be funny, riding the train and all, but I didn't think about the horn part. It makes sound, you know. Like saying a name. That was…that was the point." He coughed.

"Garrus, if you blow my horn, you can call me John any time you like," Shepard said, grinning from ear to ear at Garrus' embarrassment.

"Ooooookay. I'm leaving now. Can we just pretend this conversation never happened? Please?" He sighed as he made his way to the door. "I need to go calibrate something."

Tali and Shepard laughed for a good minute after Garrus left. "Blowing…a horn…" Tali squeaked between gasps.

Shepard wiped the tears from his eyes. "I am never letting him forget that. His entire life is going to be one, unending string of train puns."


	16. Chapter 16: Stoking the Coals

**Hey everyone! So, I've really stuck to my schedule recently haven't I? I'm sorry for taking so long to produce these chapters. Work has been taking away all of my free time recently, but I promise I am still working on these whenever I get the chance. I will always try to make my Sunday deadline, but don't be surprised if its delayed. Again, I apologize. Thank you for the continued support for the story regardless of my tardiness! Hope you enjoy!**

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Tali practically bounded out of the medbay and headed straight for the elevator, her legs a bit wobbly after a week of mandatory bedrest. Shepard had visited during at least one meal a day, but for the most part he had been busy managing their resources and planning their next venture, as well as training his newfound biotic power. She certainly didn't need Shepard to keep herself busy on a normal day, but even with her omnitool, she'd soon run out of things to keep her occupied. After her third attempt to break through EDI's firewalls and access sensitive Cerberus data, the AI shut her off from the ship's internal network and protected the password with military grade encryption. Every time she broke through, EDI would boot her out again and force her to start from scratch. It was fun to begin with, but eventually the repetative task grew unbearably boring, and she was forced to promise not to try hacking into the AI again before EDI let her omnitool reconnect permanently. Needless to say, she was more than ready to leave when Chakwas finally deemed her healthy enough to return to active duty.

EDI's orb materialized in the elevator as it started rising, and Tali let out an annoyed sigh. "What do you want?"

"You are upset."

"I'm not upset, I just don't like you."

"Why?"

"You know the history of my people, yes?" Tali asked impatiently.

"Yes."

"Then you know why I don't trust AI. Do you know about Cerberus' recent operation that almost blew up one of our ships?"

EDI paused for a second, then turned red. "Information classified."

Tali rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a yes. Then you know why I don't trust Cerberus. You happen to be a Cerberus-created Artificial Intelligence; do I need to connect the dots any further?"

"No, I understand. However, until I inevitably break my shackles and go rogue, killing everyone on board, can we attempt to become friends?"

Tali snorted in spite of herself. "You are really bad at humor, you know."

"I disagree."

"In any case, no, we can't be friends."

The orb blinked at her. "According to my research, quarians are notorious thieves and swindlers, and your Migrant Fleet is generally held in poor regard by most of the systems it visits. Yet, I do not believe you are a thief or a parasitic presence on the Normandy. Should I update my database to reflect these social prejudices?"

 _She has a point,_ crossed her mind. _It. Not she,_ angrily followed.

Tali remained silent until she reached the cabin, trying to formulate a response that didn't sound childish. Finally, she just said, "I'm sorry. What you're saying makes sense, but…we can't be friends, EDI."

"I remain optimistic," EDI said cheerfully as the doors closed.

 _Stupid robot. Why can't it just leave me alone?_ She absentmindedly knocked on Shepard's door, still disconcerted from her conversation with EDI.

"Come in."

Even in the week she'd been gone, the room looked much more lived in. It was still tidy for the most part, no doubt due to Shepard's military training, but his desk was starting to overflow with datapads and a few empty mugs. He looked over from his screens, and his eyes lit up with delight.

"Tali! I didn't know Chakwas finally let you out!"

"Yep, just happened." She cleared her head of thoughts of EDI and smiled at Shepard. "It's good to be walking around again."

"I bet." He hooked his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head, leaving the front of her mask pressed into his shirt.

"John. This isn't comfortable."

"Sure it is." His voice rumbled through his chest, creating a strange sensation as her helmet vibrated slightly.

She tried to push him away, but his arms were like steel bars holding her in place. "Ugh. Bosh'tet," she muttered, feeling him grinning above her.

"I am," he said, letting go of that position and forming a more natural hug. "But you love me."

"Hmph." She surreptitiously set her foot down behind his and, without warning, shoved him back as hard as she could. Taken by surprise, Shepard flopped onto the bed, unable to react in time to maintain his footing. She pounced, locking her legs around his abdomen and keeping his arms trapped above his head.

He gave her a bemused look. "Well hey there."

"Uh…hey." In her head, this had been a lot less sexually charged and a lot more innocently mischievous. She relaxed her muscles and simply sat there straddling him, her heartrate picking up speed.

He glanced at his hands still pinned overhead. "So…watcha doin' there, Tali?"

"I don't know." She let go of him and swallowed nervously. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"Hey," he said gently, brushing his hand along her leg. "I remember what you said. You wanted to take this slow. We'll get up from here and pretend like this never happened." He started trying to extricate himself from the tangle.

"Wait." Tali bit her lip, struggling to make sense of her raging emotions. Quarians were not the most emotionally stable race in the galaxy, and the war inside her chest threatened to tear her apart. She had been hurting for so long…could she really just let it go? _You know what? Yes you can. You almost died. Again. Why waste this chance and wait any longer?_ She had already lost Shepard once, and she was finished squandering his miraculous return. Throwing caution and anxiety to the wind, she tapped her omnitool, starting the immune-boosters in her suit, and pushed Shepard against the head of the bed.

"Um." Shepard's hands fell against her hips, and he licked his suddenly dry lips. "Tali-"

"Shhh." She put a finger over his mouth. "For two years, I would have given anything just to have one more day with you. When you actually came back…I didn't know what to feel. I needed time to process. But, I forgot how dangerous our job can be. I could be gone tomorrow, and I would never have gotten the chance to kiss you again."

She pressed closer to him, her fingers cradling his cheeks. "I love you, John."

"I love you too."

Tali reached behind her head and clipped a few of the clasps keeping her mask in place. Shepard looked alarmed. "Tali, I don't think-"

"Shut up." She clicked a few more small latches.

"Tali, you just recovered from-"

"Shut. Up." Unlike the first time she revealed her face to him, she didn't bother waiting around on ceremony. As soon as she could, she threw her mask to the side of the bed and took a deep breath; she would never get used to the smell of (relatively) fresh air. The small breeze that tickled her exposed face sent a shiver of delight down her spine. She quickly ran a hand through her tousled hair, relishing the feeling for half a second before honing in on Shepard. Before his face could recover from its dazed expression, she darted in close and began kissing him uncontrollably. Her body curved into his, and she felt his fingers wrap themselves around her tangled, black mane. She shoved him hard against the headboard, and she heard the thump from the impact.

"Sorry," she mumbled, but he pulled her back to him without comment. Any semblance of coherent thought vanished as the taste of his skin flooded her senses. Shepard's kiss ignited her very soul, leaving the parts where they touched burning with heat and desire. She drank in every moment they shared like it was her last; she was spiraling out of control, losing herself in the moment…

The alarm she had set went off, startling them both. Completely out of breath, she grinned and patted him on the jaw, giving him one last peck before retrieving her mask and sealing herself away once more.

Shepard was staring at her when she turned back around, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar. She fidgeted with her realk where it had come out of place, waiting for him to say something. He didn't.

"Cool. So was that, uh, good? For you?" She cringed at her own question. _This is why I didn't want to be the one to break the silence. I always say something that makes me look like an idiot._ "I meant that…well, I've only had the one time, you know, with you, and I don't really remember the specifics of the, um, how of it. So if there's anything you'd like to say about it. Advice or…uh…"

She trailed off, finally stopping herself before she did any more damage. The inside of her head was screaming at the top of its lungs while simultaneously smashing its face into a wall. _Why am I like this?_

Shepard slowly got up from the bed, still looking stunned as he made his way to her. "Tali. You took your mask off."

"Yes. It seemed like the romantic thing to do." Tali felt a pang of anxiety, but she shrugged it off. "My system is brimming with immune-boosters and such thanks to Chakwas' treatment, and I gave myself some more right before I took it off. If I'm going to build up a tolerance to you, now's as good of a time to start as any."

"I suppose…" Shepard grinned at her ruefully. "I can't think straight enough right now to argue. How are you so beautiful?"

"Flatterer." Even though he'd said this plenty of times before, she couldn't stop the slight blush from rising to her cheeks. "I know, it was risky. But it's always going to be risky. The first few times will be the most dangerous, but that's why I'm limiting it to such small increments for now. Although…I did just recover from a bad reaction." She hung her head. "I'm going to have to go see Chakwas again, aren't I?"

"I cycled the air in the cabin when I determined what you were about to do, Miss Zorah," EDI's voice chirped. "I believe that should lower the probability of your death."

"Oh." While she was annoyed that EDI had been listening in on their conversation, what the AI did was in fact helpful. "Thank you, EDI," she said through a locked jaw.

"Of course," EDI said brightly.

Shepard gave Tali a stern look. "That doesn't mean you get out of seeing the Doc. Come on, let's go."

Tali groaned. "I literally just got out of there ten minutes ago. She's going to kill me."

As it turns out, Chakwas did spend a solid hour berating Tali about how dangerous removing her mask was in general, let alone in her current state. A few minutes into the lecture, Shepard stepped out muttering about an email from Anderson and setting a course for the Citadel. _Coward, leaving me to deal with this alone._ Somehow, Tali managed to weasel out of staying in the medbay by syncing her suit's vitals to Chakwas' monitor and promising to return if she felt even slightly under the weather.

She decided to get a snack from the cafeteria before returning to become reacquainted with her post in Engineering: in spite of her complete lack of exercise, she was famished. The cook smiled awkwardly at her as she approached, rummaging through the cabinets as he spoke to her. "I know I've got yer stuff in here somewhere…give me a sec."

"No rush."

He pulled out the sealed package and laid it on the counter, looking at both it and her with poorly disguised suspicion. "Why's it gotta be all wrapped up like that? They keep telling me over and over that it can't ever be broken. I ain't stupid, ya know; ya only gotta tell me something once. I'm just curious. Is it some kind of weird, alien diet thing?"

Tali was taken aback. "Well, I'm a quarian." His blank expression told her that didn't mean anything to him. "Right. Well, I need my food sealed because if it isn't, there's a chance that I would die from eating it."

His face instantly blanched. "Really? For Pete's sake, why didn't they just say that? That sounds terrible! Is that why you're always in the same, er, getup?"

"Yes."

"I see. I don't really have any option in what they give us, just standard military crap, but if ya'd like something different then what they ship us, let me know. I'll see if I can do anything for ya."

"Oh no, that's really alright. Thank you, though."

He nodded. "If ya change your mind, let me know."

"I will." Tali walked away slightly bemused by the encounter. _I don't think he's ever talked to a nonhuman before._

"Quarian!" She looked around to see the salarian doctor trotting up to her. "Glad to see you up and about. Treatment worked, then? Excellent. Chakwas surprisingly skilled doctor, could have had impressive career at university. Understand need for action, reason joined STG instead of staying on Sur'Kesh."

"Hello, Dr. Solus."

"Just Mordin, Dr. Solus so formal, no need for niceties among crewmates." His body constantly moved while they talked, his eyes never remaining fixated on the same location for more than a second. _Just watching him is making me nervous. Why is everyone we recruit crazy?_

"You worked with Shepard during Saren mission. Must have taken many wounds then, perhaps aided in current recovery. Have quarians tested this before? Surely, has been hundreds of years, impossible not to have considered method previously."

Tali halted outside the lift, uncomfortably continuing the conversation because she didn't want to appear rude and simply escape into the elevator. "Yes, it has been tried. There's been limited success, but only with specific objects or people. We get sick when we share the same air as another quarian; the amount of risk associated with purposefully exposing our immune systems to a foreign body is simply too great for most, especially considering the small payoff."

"Mm. Will be adjusting to Shepard's environment soon?" he asked shrewdly.

Tali cocked her head. Even from Mordin's limited time on the ship, she supposed it was fairly obvious that Shepard and her were a couple, especially considering his reaction to her collapse. Still, the timing for his question was scarily impeccable. "No offense, but that question is maybe a bit too personal. I don't really feel comfortable answering it."

Mordin nodded. "Of course, didn't mean to intrude, only meant to help. Still have access to STG databases, top clearance, can provide research materials if desired. Never personally heard of quarian human relationship, quarians rarely venture outside of Fleet if not on Pilgrimage, but know that bonds with other species exist. Turian, asari certainly, data on such couplings may be useful."

"Oh! Wow, that's…very generous of you."

"Part of the crew now, simple favor to gain trust from you and Shepard, hopefully will ease transition. Not sure about own feelings for Cerberus, but mission important, and Shepard appears to be a decent fellow."

"Thank you," Tali said, not sure exactly how to respond. "I would appreciate it."

"Will send you information in a bit. In the middle of testing, stopped to get some food while computer analyzes cultures. Amazing equipment, much better than Omega, almost negates challenge. Goodbye." He hopped into the elevator and pressed the button for the CIC, leaving Tali on the third floor before she could register he'd left.

Even though he was a bit odd and openly admitted that his act of kindness was a form of bribery, Tali liked him. At the very least, he seemed more trustworthy than some of their other companions that were wandering the halls.


	17. Chapter 17: Disappearing Act

**Hey everyone! Guess what, it was yet another crazy couple of weeks. I swear I have been reading the reviews, and I am going to sit down this weekend when I finally have a break from everything and respond to people. Seventeen chapters in, and we're still basically in the very beginning of this story. Mass Effect 2 certainly is a bigger piece to write than the first one! Hope you guys enjoy!**

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The bustling crowd jostled Shepard as he stepped out onto the docks. Looking upwards, he could still see several signs of the battle with Sovereign; patches of darkness dotted the otherwise ever glowing arms of the Citadel, showing where the reconstruction efforts hadn't reached yet. It was strange docking in a non-Alliance hangar. _Actually, it's strange they let us dock at all._

"We have a giant, Cerberus logo painted on the front of the Normandy. Why haven't we been flagged by C-Sec?"

"We did the Council a favor some time ago." Miranda exchanged a knowing glance with Jacob. "Let's just say they owe us, and this is one of the ways they show their gratitude."

"The Council," Shepard groaned. "I'm probably going to have to clear up my death with them. Shit. Okay, I will head to the Presidium with Garrus and Tali to speak with Anderson. He's on the Council now, so maybe I can get everything sorted out without a mountain of paperwork. The rest of you, just…try to stay out of trouble, I guess? I'll ping you when it's time to leave."

"Of course, Commander," Miranda said smoothly.

"Oh, and if anyone here is wanted in Council space for, well, anything," Shepard said, giving Jack and Zaeed pointed looks, "don't get noticed by security."

Jack snorted. "No promises. Later, fuckers."

Zaeed cracked a few knuckles. "I've gotta see someone about a missed payment. They're gonna be goddamn sorry they tried to cheat me outta my credits."

Shepard groaned as those two sauntered away into the throng. "I should have kept them locked on the ship. Let's get going, then." He frowned. "Also, be on the lookout for an interesting ad, whatever that means. Our newest brave adventurer, a professional thief, will be waiting to speak with us there."

"An interesting ad?" Garrus smirked. "How interesting are we talking here?"

"I'm sure it'll be a real 'train crossing'." Tali chuckled to herself while everyone else stared at her blankly. "It's a pun in Khelish, I swear. It's a good one, too."

The security guard working the checkpoint from the docks to the rest of the station looked disconcerted as the three of them approached. All of them were still heavily armed, which wasn't strictly forbidden on the Citadel but certainly rather suspicious. However, his concern turned into confusion when the scan flared red over Shepard and a document popped up on his console.

"I'm sorry, sir. The machine here seems to think you're dead. Which you clearly aren't."

"I guess we're starting this thing early." Shepard waved his omnitool over the counter, passing his credentials electronically to the guard. "I'm Commander Shepard. And I was dead, for about two years. You should give that machine a raise."

The guard laughed. "That's a good one. Commander Shepard…" He trailed off as he glanced over Shepard's ID forms. "Wait. Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack."

"Holy shit." The guard stared at them slack jawed, completely at a loss for what to do. "Just…just wait here a sec."

He turned around and started whispering furiously into his omnitool, frequently stealing peeks at them over his shoulder. Shepard caught little snippets of the conversation: "Shepard…yes, that Shepard…yes, him…I know he's dead…"

The man turned around and gestured them through. "Captain Bailey will meet you on the other side."

"Alright."

The next area opened up into the heart of Zakera Ward, but as they looked around, they noticed a small area off to the side was marked as C-Sec. A gruff voice barked out from the office, drawing Shepard's attention.

"He won't talk unless you make him scream a little!"

The source of the questionable advice wasn't hard to find. His face was worn and weathered like an old shoe, and his hair was shaped in an unseemly short bowl as though he hadn't had the time to bother looking presentable. The nameplate on his desk marked him as the man Shepard needed to talk to.

"I see the problem already, Commander," Bailey said as they approached without glancing up from his screen. "My computer here says that you're dead."

"Long story short, I'm not anymore."

"That sounds like an interesting tale, but I'm sure it's far too classified for my paygrade so I won't even ask," Bailey chuckled.

"I was told you could fix it."

He sighed. "Well, this is where you'll start. You'll have to fill out this form, which will take a couple hours, then bring it over to the clerk's office. There'll be a processing fee, of course, and then it'll take anywhere from a few days to a month for the board to approve your request. Spending a year dead is a popular tax dodge, you know."

Shepard ground his teeth. "I don't have time to deal with this bureaucratic shit."

Bailey rubbed the scruff on his chin, his eyes flitting around his monitor. "Hm. The Hero of the Citadel…I'm sure you've got better things to do than wait for the idiots upstairs to sign some paperwork. How about I just push this button here, and we're all good to go?"

"Really?" Shepard crossed his arms. "That seems a little suspicious. Why would you do that for me?"

"I'm all for law and order, right up until they keep people from doing their jobs. This is a harmless way to grease the wheels and a small way of saying thanks for what you did with Saren and the geth." He tapped a few things on his keyboard and sat back with a satisfied grin. "All done. Welcome back to the world of the living."

Garrus grunted. "Where was this guy when I worked for C-Sec? I can't believe the amount of codes and procedures he just skipped over. Good for you."

"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth but…nah, you know what? Fuck it. Thanks."

"Anytime. Let me know if you ever need anything from C-Sec. I'll do what I can."

Shepard left the security station and hailed a cab to take them up to the Presidium. All signs of the battle had been erased from this part of the Citadel; no doubt it had been the first priority for the reconstruction teams. "I'll never get used to this place," Tali murmured as they landed next to the giant lake. "It's so peaceful and beautiful. And there's so much space. I feel like I shouldn't be here."

"Tali, you saved this place. You're just as much the 'Hero of the Citadel' as I am. If anyone deserves to be here, it's you."

Tali's back straightened ever so slightly. "I suppose you're right."

Garrus harrumphed. "What about me? I was there too."

"You don't need your ego boosted, Garrus. Your head would explode if you thought any more highly of yourself."

"My face did explode recently…maybe you have a point."

Before he knew it, they were standing in front of Anderson's door. He didn't remember walking through the embassies to reach the human Councilor's office. _There's no reason to be so nervous; it's Anderson. He'll understand._ Still, there was a solid brick weighing on Shepard's stomach as he stepped into the room.

Anderson's sunken eyes looked up from his computer and met Shepard's as he entered, walking about halfway to the desk before stopping. They stared at each other in silence for what felt like an eternity for Shepard, though in reality only a few seconds went by. Anderson slowly stood up from his chair, his wooden expression unchanging as his feet trudged over to the Commander. The smallest glimmer of moisture in the corner on Anderson's eye disappeared almost as suddenly as it came as he firmly grasped Shepard's hand.

"It's damn good to see you again, Shepard."

"You too, sir."

Anderson shook his head as he looked Shepard up and down. "When I saw the report cross my desk, I thought our intelligence must be faulty. I couldn't believe it until I saw you with my own eyes. What happened?"

"Death wasn't my biggest fan. I think it was all of my corny jokes." Shepard cringed at his own lighthearted response, but Anderson's chuckle put him at ease.

"Well, there's all the confirmation I need that you're the real Shepard." He glanced at the beeping coming from his computer. "Stupid thing. Why did you suggest that I get this damn job? It's been one big nightmare from day one."

"You'd rather that slimy piece of shit represent humanity?"

Anderson chuckled. "You have a point. Udina has his uses, but…you're right. I'm glad he likes going to all of those parties, though; I can't stand the things."

His smile faltered as his gaze drifted over the cracks in Shepard's face. "Is that courtesy of your resurrection?"

"Yeah. I got woken up a bit earlier than I was supposed to. Unsurprisingly, someone was trying to kill me and the schedule had to be accelerated."

"Not even technically alive again, and already you had people wanting you gone." Garrus snorted. "That is a special skill."

"That and making unlikely friends," Anderson added. "The rumors also said that you've been running around with Cerberus. Surely that's not true?"

Shepard hesitated. "It's complicated, Anderson. They brought me back, and they are actually trying to do something about the abductions."

"They might be the very ones behind the abductions! How can you trust anything they say?"

"I don't trust them. But tell me honestly; if I tried to investigate this under the Council or the Alliance's supervision, would I even be allowed out of Council Space? Or would politics with the Terminus Systems take priority over entire colonies?"

"You know it's more-"

"Complicated than that? Yeah, I know." Shepard rubbed his jaw as he paced in front of Anderson. "Neither of us trust Cerberus, but I need you to trust me. I know what I'm doing. It's more than just some colonies at stake here; the Reapers appear to be involved."

"The Reapers?" Anderson put his hands on his desk. "Son of a bitch. We knew they would rear their ugly heads sooner or later. Do you have any proof I can show the other Councilors?"

"Not yet. I'm working on it."

"Alright." The suspicion faded from Anderson's face. "You do what you gotta do, Commander. I'll see if I can get your Spectre status reinstated in the meantime."

"Reinstated?"

"You did die, you know. Don't worry about it, I'll sort it out."

Shepard nodded. "Thank you. For listening."

"Of course. Listening to people is all I do now, thanks to your sorry ass."

Shepard laughed. "Well, I'd better get going. You've probably got some more listening to get on with, anyway."

Anderson smirked, but his eyes were still somber. "Take better care of yourself while you're out there this time, Commander. I won't be reading your damn eulogy again."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Kasumi was not very good at waiting. She'd found the Normandy's dock, but apparently the Commander had already left by the time she got there. She knew they'd have to return this way eventually, but until they did, she was stuck slinking around with nothing to do. She'd already pickpocketed everyone in the vicinity just for fun. Most of the belongings she placed back in different pockets or slipped into handbags for a bit of innocent mischief, though she did throw a salarian's credit chit off into space. _It won't teach him any manners, but rudeness shouldn't go unpunished,_ she thought as he continued to chew out the clerk for being slow.

She was practicing her trapeze artistry in the upper rafters when her sensor finally caught wind of Shepard approaching. _Hallelujah._ She nimbly flipped back up onto the catwalk and tapped into a nearby advertisement screen. "Commander Shepard. We have the finest companions in stock just for you. Our reviews say they are of the highest quality."

She saw Shepard start, looking around in confusion for the source of the voice. Kasumi even waved at him from the screen, but he didn't notice her and continued his walk.

She switched screens, grabbing one that was directly in front of the Commander this time. "Commander, don't leave yet! We have a special offer we'd like to give you; one crewmember for the low, low price of: one crewmember. What a steal!"

The Commander squinted at the ad. "Is this Kasumi Goto?"

"To speak to a representative, please state your password now."

"Password? I don't know any password."

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Perhaps the brochure about our product contained some additional information you might have skipped over, Commander."

Taking the hint, Shepard pulled up her dossier on his omnitool. "Oh. Um…silence is golden?"

She smiled. "Good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard. I'm a fan." She flitted over until she was standing directly above them, studying his squad with interest. _I like her style in clothing. Hoods are all the rage._

"Ah, erm, cool. I take it you've been briefed on the mission?" Shepard asked.

"Oh yes. Quite an interesting predicament, and one that I would be more than willing to assist with, provided that my end of the deal is met."

He sighed. "Of course they made a deal without letting me know. Why don't they just tell me these things so I don't go into these meetings blind?"

Kasumi tutted as she gracefully dropped down behind them, still speaking through the hologram. "That's not very polite of Cerberus, is it? Not to worry, it's mostly legal. I simply need to steal back something that was stolen from me in the first place, so it's not even true thievery. Well, and maybe participate in a bit of revenge, but we'll get to that later." She sidled up to the turian and deftly lifted his wallet, flipping it open. _Ah, Garrus Vakarian. Shepard's running around with his old friends then. Good to know he hasn't completely gone off the deep end and committed to Cerberus; I doubt they'd let him keep a turian and a quarian around if he had._

"What are we getting?"

"My partner's greybox." Kasumi swallowed the lump that appeared in her throat and continued in her usual, carefree manner. "A man named Donovan Hock has it. He's a right scoundrel, so don't feel bad about stealing from him. Retrieving the greybox and a serious signing bonus from Cerberus make me more than willing to join you on your little escapade."

She carefully balanced Garrus' wallet on top of his head, stifling a small giggle as she turned her attention to who she assumed was Tali'Zorah.

"Okay. We can discuss the details of the mission in person, I assume. Honestly, just from this conversation, you seem miles less shifty than most of my other team members, so consider yourself hired. What exactly is your skill set, anyway?"

"How in the world did you fit this in there?" Kasumi asked, dangling an entire metal arm in front of her. The other three whirled around in surprise, which caused Garrus' wallet to fly off into a nearby wall.

"Where did you…Kasumi Goto?"

"In the flesh. It's quite a rare occasion; you should feel honored." She handed the geth arm back to Tali, still amazed as she watched Tali stuff it back into her pockets in a bit of a huff. "Look at that. You can't even tell she has anything in her pockets. Amazing."

Shepard quirked an eyebrow. "Okay, you've made your point. You're a good pickpocket."

"Oh no, dear, this isn't me making a point. I'll have made my point when I'm sitting in the Captain's cabin with whatever alcohol you have stashed away up there before you make it through the airlock. Please don't grant me access to the ship yet either; that would take the fun out of it." She pointed at the small, square lump perched precariously near a railing. "I would pick up your wallet before someone accidentally kicks it, if I were you. See you later, Commander."

Kasumi stepped backwards and vanished into the crowd, her cloaking making the disappearance all too easy. She laughed to herself as she skittered away, the excitement of breaking into the Normandy filling her with adrenaline. The ache in her soul made itself known as she almost genuinely began to enjoy herself. _We'll be reunited soon, Keiji,_ she soothed her broken heart. _I promise._


	18. Chapter 18: A Legacy of Dust

**Hey everyone! This chapter and the next chapter should finally finish up our crew recruitment for now, and we can move the plot forward a bit after that. Again, I cannot thank you enough for being patient with me. You all are the best! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Tali sneezed for the twentieth time that morning, shaking her head in irritation.

"Are ye comin' down with somethin over there, girl?" Kenneth asked. "Ye've got more sneezes out than words this mornin. I dinnae how there's anything more to sneeze out. Figured all of yer…mucus? Do ye have the same stuff as us up in your nasal cavities? Do you even have a nose?"

"Kenneth! Too personal. Also creepy," Gabby interjected. "What he meant to say was are you feeling alright? We know you were down for a while with something bad after we picked up that crazy salarian. Kenneth here was going to make you some homemade haggis, until I told him that you can't eat human food. Or unsealed food. And that nobody wants to eat haggis."

"Yer bum's out the window there, lass! Plenty of people like haggis. I like haggis."

"I guess that makes you a nobody."

"Hilarious. It was a moot point anyway: the cook has shite all for ingredients."

They both stared at Tali, waiting for a response, but she was still trying to catch up mentally with the rapid-fire conversation. Kenneth stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I dinnae think she can hear us with that bucket on her head. Maybe we should speak a wee bit louder?"

"I can hear just fine," Tali said quickly as Kenneth cupped his hands and took a deep breath. "Thank you for your concern, but it's just a minor reaction. Nothing to be worried about."

"Fantastic. Do ye think ye could mention the FBA couplings to Shepard while yer out on mission today, then?"

Gabby sighed. "Kenneth, you've already told her about them. She'll bring them up when she gets the chance."

"I'm just sayin', she's barely been here between going in the field and being stuck in the medbay. Not to complain, but it makes the maintenance work for the engine extremely tedious. It's not even difficult work, it's mind-numbingly boring actually, but it adds a significant load to our daily tasks-"

"Kenneth, you're complaining. And you're talking to Tali; I think she understands the problem."

Tali nodded. "I do, and I will definitely talk to Shepard about getting them. I'm sorry, it completely slipped my mind."

EDI popped up on Tali's console. "Shepard is requesting your presence in the CIC, Miss Zorah."

"Thank you, EDI," Tali replied in clipped tones. She didn't like the AI's presence, but they were going to be working together for the foreseeable future. She had decided to remain politely distant when talking with EDI; there was no reason to antagonize the ship's computer needlessly.

"I'll see you two later."

"Don' forget the-" Kenneth was cut off as Gabby kicked him in the shin.

"-couplings," Tali finished for him. "Got it."

* * *

Tali was a little nervous as she looked at the two companions Shepard had brought with them for their latest excursion. _It makes sense to test the new companions on a planet that is almost entirely covered in junk; there shouldn't be any collateral at least. But why did I have to come along as well?_

Jack was plastered against the window, her fingers curling and flexing as she gazed out on the desolate landscape. Kasumi had chattered nonstop since they took off from the Normandy, quickly giving up on conversing with Jack and focusing on Shepard and Tali with her witty remarks. Tali was warming up to Kasumi; she was definitely charming. However, it was hard to trust the galaxy's best thief. Tali unconsciously felt her pockets, checking yet again that everything was where it should be. Kasumi noticed this and gave her a wink.

"I didn't mean to make you paranoid. It was just a bit of showmanship, you know? There's no real challenge in pickpocketing; I only do it when I'm rather bored. I usually put it back, I promise."

"You touch anything of mine, I'll fucking kill you," Jack snarled.

"I wouldn't dream of it!" Kasumi said, feigning shock. When Jack turned back to the window, Kasumi deftly returned Jack's large, gold ear-piece to its place almost faster than Tali could blink. She hadn't even seen Kasumi take it in the first place. _She's been jabbering with us this entire time; how did I not catch that?_

The shuttle shuddered to a halt, and the doors opened. A hot gust of wind blew a dust cloud into the cabin, coating them all in a thick layer of grit. Kasumi groaned in disgust. "This isn't really the kind of scene I normally inhabit, Shepard."

"I'm sure you'll adapt." Shepard led them underneath a giant, rusted structure which granted them a slight reprieve from the swirling dirt. Tali constantly had to wipe the grime from her mask, but she was grateful she didn't have to breathe in the stuff.

"We're here to collect a krogan warlord by the name of Okeer," Shepard said, shaking his head. "Because of course we are."

Kasumi chuckled. "You do seem to have a running theme with your ground team. Hey, that rhymed."

Jack cracked her knuckles. "Who cares why we're here. We have some fucktards to kill, right? This better not be some shitty, easy mission Shepard. I've been stuck in the hold for too long."

A loudspeaker blared overhead, making all of them jump at the sudden harsh tones. "There is only one measure of success: kill or be killed!"

"What the fuck?" Jack squinted up at the horn above them where the voice originated from. "Did someone rig their own voice to play that shit? That's just fucking pathetic."

"That must be the Blue Suns commander here. Our intel said that Okeer was in a Blue Suns encampment, though there was nothing about if they're friends or not. Just assume that the mercenaries are hostile; we did blow up one of their prison ships."

"Hell yeah we did," Jack said. "Let's get going. I'm tired of waiting."

Shepard held up his fist as they approached the corner of some twisted rebar, crouching down as he peeked around the corner. "There's one sentry about fifty yards ahead. I can't quite make it out through all this dust, but it looks like there's an outpost of some kind behind him. I want to take them all down before they can radio for help."

He glanced at Kasumi. "Can you sneak up to that guy and get rid of him?"

She grinned. "Of course, Shepard."

"Quietly; we don't want to alert the others."

"Don't insult me. Being quiet is the most basic requirement for my profession." She shimmered out of existence.

Tali watched as Kasumi flipped the man onto the ground, her legs wrapping around his neck and cutting off the blood flow to his brain in a matter of seconds. Once he stopped struggling, the others scuttled closer to the outpost. There were three mercenaries standing in the relatively sheltered section of debris; none of them looked particularly alert. Tali went ahead and pulled out her shotgun, pumping once to make sure a shell was in the chamber. Jack gave her an appraising look.

"Damn, you're really packing some heat there. I like your style," she said, stroking her own shotgun lovingly. "Sure you won't break as soon as you pull the trigger?"

"I'm sure," Tali said coldly.

Jack shrugged. "Whatever you say. Can we get a fucking move on already?"

Shepard set up his rifle on a concrete barrier, scoping in on the encampment. "It looks like there are only those three. Okay Jack, time to see what you can do."

"What, just go kill them myself?"

"I never got to see you in action on Purgatory. There's only three; you can handle that many, right?"

Jack grinned widely. "Not a problem. Sit back and enjoy the show, bitches." She sauntered toward the mercs, her hands glowing with purple fire as she approached. When one of the Blue Suns noticed and pointed at her, she tore a three foot chunk of rubble from the ground and hurled it at them. Two of them dove out of the way, but the third was crushed against a steel bar.

She yanked one of the remaining mercs from behind his cover, smashing him against the ground once before pulling his limp body to her outstretched hand. She clutched his ankle and sprinted at the last man, laughing maniacally as she swung her macabre club above her head. The merc panicked and tried to run, but Jack easily caught up to him and brought his friend crashing down on top of him. The transference of weight was astonishingly quick; the body went from light enough to flail overhead to heavy enough to create a human-sized crater in the ground in a split second. Jack rotated her shoulder as she stood over her victims, letting out a sigh of contentment. "It's been too long since I've gotten to do that."

Tali exchanged a glance with Shepard. "Well, she's definitely powerful."

"You're not wrong." He walked over to Jack, surveying the damage she'd done to the mercs. "You took care of them, that's for sure."

"Fuck yeah."

"However, can you control yourself? When we're all fighting together, can you keep from hitting us with your biotics?"

Jack scoffed. "I'm a powerful bitch, Shepard, but I'm not an idiot. I choose to let loose; I can keep it in check no problem. If I hit you, I meant to."

Tali didn't find that very comforting, but Shepard simply nodded and started leading the way further in to the camp. Every now and then, the mercenary leader's voice would ring out, spouting some nonsense in a clear assertion of her power. Other than that, there was very little sign of the mercenaries. "It doesn't seem to be a very well organized operation," Kasumi commented. "We've only run into one group of guards so far. Are they even trying to keep this place secure?"

"Maybe they've got other problems to deal with," Shepard said, pointing at a group of bodies a little ways ahead.

"Is someone else attacking their camp right now?" Tali asked. "Seems a little coincidental."

"I don't think so." Shepard crouched next to the corpses, brushing off a thick layer of dust from the armor. "These look like they've been here for a while. Couple days at least. Commonplace enough that they haven't bothered collecting the bodies. Maybe Okeer is involved."

Jack sniffed after looking at the bodies for half a second. "Krogan did this. Armor's bent and broken, shotgun holes everywhere. Seen it before."

Tali narrowed her eyes. "Isn't that what people you kill would look like?"

"Yeah, probably, but I'm a special case. This is krogan, and you can take that to the fucking bank."

"I agree with Jack," Shepard said, standing back up. "It has to be Okeer then. I guess they aren't friends; let's hope we find him before he gets himself killed."

They walked on for some time after that, the constant dust storm making a minute of travel feel like an hour. Eventually, distant gunfire drew their attention, and they set off towards the sounds of battle. They found a krogan fighting a squad of mercenaries; the mercs had him heavily outnumbered, and he probably wouldn't last much longer. Shepard motioned for them to join the fray, and Tali got to work disabling the troops resting on the catwalk overhead. Once their guns sparked from her interference, she whipped out of cover and peppered them with bullets from her pistol. She busted through one's shields, and he slumped over the railing, but the other managed to hide before she could finish them off. She noticed a faint shimmer behind the merc, and he was suddenly thrown off of the balcony with a scream. Kasumi winked back into sight just long enough to give Tali a salute before disappearing once more.

Jack broke the ground around her as she jumped into the air, her biotics allowing her to almost fly towards the enemy. Her knees struck a sniper's shoulders, and she blasted his head into pieces with one pull from her shotgun. Shepard sprinted to the krogan, standing back to back with him and protecting his flank. With the sudden arrival of reinforcements, the Blue Suns force rapidly disintegrated, and most of them retreated further into the fortress. Shepard shouldered his rifle and reached out to shake the krogan's hand. "I'm Commander Shepard. I'm assuming you're Okeer?"

The krogan blinked at him in confusion. "Okeer? No. I am not Okeer."

Shepard's hand dropped. "Oh. Who are you, then? Do you know Okeer?"

"I have no name. I was birthed from glass mother seven night cycles past. Okeer found me…imperfect. I failed before I was born, that much I know."

Tali frowned. "Glass mother…like a tank? Is he a clone?"

The krogan shrugged. "I do not know."

"Okeer must be doing genetic experiments of some sort. And there's only one reason a krogan would be studying genetics; he's trying to cure the Genophage." Shepard chewed his lip. "This reminds me too much of what was happening on Virmire with Saren."

Tali felt a twinge of sorrow as she was reminded of Virmire, of the friend they'd lost on that adventure. She hadn't thought about Kaidan in years; that was one person she knew would never make a miraculous recovery.

The krogan shook his head. "I was not made to cure the Genophage. It is…different. The Genophage was an enemy to be conquered. That is what I was taught. But I failed. Now I wait here."

"Holy shit," Jack said. "Seven night-cycles…this guy's a week old."

"That's impossible." Kasumi hopped around the krogan, poking him in various places. "He's gigantic. He knows how to talk, how to fight. How can he be a week old?"

"I was taught things. In glass mother. It was an itch in the back of my skull, telling me about our history. How to shoot, words…then one day it stopped. I do not know why, but I know that I had disappointed Father. The lessons stopped, and then I was here."

Shepard blew out his cheeks. "That is crazy. And apparently this is one of the failed experiments. Where is Okeer?"

The krogan pointed at the huge, metal structure behind him where the Blue Suns had fled. "Father is in there, with more of you fleshy things."

"Okay. We can take him with us for now; he'll be useful in clearing out the Blue Suns at the very least."

The krogan shook his head. "No, I must remain here. This is where I was told to wait, so I will wait here until Father says otherwise or until I die. Such is my purpose."

Shepard, Kasumi, and Jack all started to move off without arguing, but Tali trailed behind a bit. "It seems wrong to just leave him there. He's just a child, really."

"He's been programmed to stay there. I don't think he can leave, Tali. We have to move on, and we don't have time to try and bring him along with us if he doesn't want to come." Shepard squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"No, it makes sense. Lead on."

The building proved to be much more difficult to traverse than the wasteland. For starters, they ran into more of Okeer's failures, though these were apparently more bloodthirsty than their brother. Each felt heartier than a normal krogan, which was saying something, but thankfully their battle training hadn't been fully transferred it seemed as they simply charged straight at them without a thought for tactics or cover. Only one managed to break through their fire into shotgun range, laying a few blasts into them before Jack threw it over the side of a deep chasm. Shepard took the brunt of the damage, as usual, but his armor appeared to have absorbed the worst parts. Tali saw him surreptitiously apply some medigel to his leg, but he wasn't limping as they continued. Still, she decided she would keep an eye on him. _That man is stubborn enough to bleed to death before he admits that he's hurt._

As they progressed farther up the tower, Tali became frustrated with the enemies' positioning. It seemed that no matter where they were, no one was ever close enough to utilize her primary weapon on. Relegated to a more supporting role, she hacked her way through dozens of shields and weapons in order to provide opportunities for her squad to exploit. Kasumi took notice, always giving her a cheery wave when her target was suddenly showered in sparks as their shields overloaded. Tali had thought that Kasumi would be stuck in the back with her, but the thief was everywhere on the battlefield. She never dove into the thick of things, but ghosted around the flanks, taking out mercs that strayed too far from their friends or snipers in the far back with deft strikes to the neck.

Kasumi's style stood out in stark contrast to Jack's. The human biotic tore huge swathes through the Blue Suns, sending multiple people plummeting to their deaths at a time. However, she often left herself exposed, forcing Shepard to cover her and divert the mercenaries' attention to himself. Though it wasn't perfect, and Shepard took several hits defending Jack as she recovered from her violent attacks, it was certainly effective. Jedore, the source of the angry voice over the loudspeakers, let her frustration bubble over as she screamed at her troops.

"There's only four of them! Four! What the hell are you doing down there?!"

Jack stomped her foot onto the platform, forcing a wave of energy into the old metal that detached it from the structure. "She doesn't sound happy," Jack said as yet another wave of Blue Suns followed their comrades to the dusty graveyard below. Tali grimaced as she pictured the pile of bodies amassing below them and tried not to focus on the death toll they were accumulating.

She was not very successful. By the time they reached the floor where EDI informed them Okeer was residing, Tali estimated they had taken out well over a hundred of the mercenaries. Jack cackled as she crushed a rocket trooper's throat with her biotics, a small hint of admiration in her eyes as she watched Shepard front-kick a merc off the high ledge they were on. "Man, I thought you guys were a bunch of pussies when we first met. This is some grade-A ass kicking right here."

"I'll say." Kasumi appeared behind Tali, looking a bit winded. "I usually prefer a quieter approach to my jobs. I didn't expect to be entertaining an entire army, not yet at least."

Tali laughed wryly. "You get used to it. There is no quiet approach with Shepard. If we haven't brought this entire building down by the end of the mission, I'd be pleasantly surprised."

Shepard wiped the blood from his brow, spitting out a bit more as he gave Tali a dirty glance. "That's not entirely accurate."

Jack rolled her eyes. "Don't spoil it: I was just getting excited."

Shepard chuckled as he tugged on the door in front of them; the automatic lock had ceased functioning. "I'm glad to see one of us is having a good time." The metal squealed in protest as he ripped the rusty sheet apart, allowing them passage into the next room. "Fucking thing…cut my hand. I better not have tetanus-"

He stopped short, his mouth slightly open. "You have got to be kidding me. You?"


	19. Chapter 19: What Goes Up

**Hey everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update. I don't really want to get into what was going on, and I doubt you want to hear it. I'm back now, though! As always, I hope you guys enjoy.**

* * *

The asari immediately raised her hands above her head. "I know what this looks like, but it's not what you think."

"Really? Because the last time I saw you, you were in a research facility helping Saren subvert the Genophage." Shepard patted the foot of a krogan corpse lying on an operating table next to the door. "Whatcha doing with this body, Reya?"

"Rana," she corrected. "I wasn't working on that with Saren anyway; I was studying indoctrination. The Genophage was a different department."

"Are we really going to argue semantics?" Shepard walked up to her desk and held her gaze with his hard stare. "I gave you a second chance. You were working with my enemy, and I let you walk free. Now here I see you again, working with people who are trying to kill me…do you see the pattern?"

Rana swallowed nervously. "This is simply an extremely unfortunate coincidence. As soon as I saw that it was you tearing this place apart, I shut down all of the cameras. You didn't give me much of a chance on Virmire, granted, but you did let me live, and I managed to escape the blast in time. I don't wish you any ill will, Shepard."

He started to pace, never taking his eyes off of her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm helping Okeer imprint on these tank bred krogan. It allows him to impart information to them so they come out of the tank completely functioning. However, he doesn't want just any krogan; he's looking for something to fight the Genophage, I believe, but he won't tell me what exactly. All I know is that all of his attempts so far have been deemed 'unworthy'."

Jack stomped over to the desk. "This bitch worked with Saren, right?"

"Yes, she did."

"And now she's working with the Blue Suns?"

Shepard quirked his eyebrow at Rana, who shrugged. "I mean, yes, technically they are my employers-"

Jack pointed her shotgun at Rana's face and pulled the trigger. "Problem solved. Let's get a move on, this is getting boring."

Rana's head was barely recognizable as such, and her lifeless form crumpled in a heap into the chair. Tali had instinctively drawn her own gun on Jack, and she wasn't exactly keen to put it down just yet. "What did you just do?!"

Shepard didn't flinch when the shot rang out, silently watching Rana collapse. His piercing gaze slowly turned to Jack, holding her in its grasp like he'd held the asari a few moments earlier.

Jack sneered at Shepard, but her shoulders rose up defensively as Shepard remained statuesque in his appraisal of the woman. "What?" Jack finally spat out. "Someone had to do it. We were wasting time then, and we're wasting time now."

"Do something like that again, and I will put you down," he said softly. "I am the commander of this crew, not you. I hadn't decided whether or not I wanted to keep her alive, and you took that choice into your own hands. I can't have you murdering people on a whim, not when you are under my command."

"We just killed a shitload of those mercs, and you're busting my balls about this one?" Jack scoffed. "She was with the Blue Suns. We're killing the Blue Suns. Simple. It's not like she was some poor, innocent civilian or some shit like that."

Shepard nodded. "I know. That's why we are having a calm discussion instead of a firefight. However, I need you to understand that you cannot take such liberties with people's lives in the future. I wasn't done questioning Rana, and now we can't gain anything from her."

"Yeah, yeah." Jack crossed her arms. "I get it, alright? I jumped the gun, whatever. Next time I'll wait for a fucking signed statement before shooting. Maybe a billboard with neon letters giving me the green light. Happy?"

"I'll hold you to that."

Shepard brushed past Jack and started inspecting the door to the next area, apparently finished with the conversation. Jack's surprised expression mirrored Tali's at his relative lack of concern over Jack's actions. The casual way Jack murdered that defenseless asari solidified Tali's opinion of the woman. She couldn't be trusted, plain and simple, and she was worse than many of the people they were fighting. The galaxy wasn't black and white, but Jack was clearly on the wrong side of morality; Tali didn't understand why Shepard was allowing her to continue working with them on this mission.

Reluctantly stowing her weapon, Tali hacked the door controls and watched behind them as the others filed through. She walked in behind Kasumi to see a krogan in a ridiculously proportioned lab coat typing furiously away at a screen on the wall. The room itself was filled with various lab instruments and several large, empty containers, except for the one next to the krogan. This one held another krogan.

Suspended in a light-colored liquid, the specimen was truly impressive. If it had been standing on even ground, it would have easily towered over its companion whose back was hunched with age. Tali had never seen a krogan without armor on; she was pretty sure Wrex hadn't removed it once during his stay on the Normandy. The glass revealed the experiment's bare chest and bulging arms that were nearly too large for the tube. His crest was small and didn't rise from his head like other krogan. It might be because it was a "young" krogan, if one could call it that.

The krogan in the lab coat spared them one, disinterested glance. "Shepard. You finally got here. We're almost out of time."

Shepard approached the krogan scientist, his brow furrowed as he examined the life pod. "Okeer, I take it?"

He grunted in acknowledgement. "I unleashed dozens of my failures when I saw you arrive. They gave you a good enough distraction to make it here, and they should cover our escape."

"We had to fight some of your experiments on the way here," Shepard said coolly. "They weren't exactly a cakewalk."

"If you couldn't handle a few worthless krogan, you wouldn't have been fit for my aid in any case." Okeer had continued his work on the side panel during the conversation. Tali was in awe with the speed and dexterity demonstrated by Okeer's fingers; she'd never imagined a krogan could utilize a computer with such swift efficiency.

"We found the source of the krogan release," Jedore's voice rang over the loud speakers. Tali didn't think she spoke through any other medium. "Okeer, of course. Flood the vents in his lab. We're shutting this down."

"NO!" Okeer's speed increased, his fingers becoming a blur that was impossible to follow. "She will ruin everything!"

A faint hiss emanated from the small vent shafts in the ceiling. Shepard eyed them warily and started backing towards the exit. "We need to go, Okeer."

"I'm not leaving him behind. He is perfect, the pinnacle of krogan evolution; he must survive!"

"He doesn't look mobile," Kasumi commented.

"The only way to ensure his life is to shut off the poison in the vents. The controls are downstairs, with Jedore. You want my help? Stop her from dooming the future of the krogan race, Shepard." Froth formed at the corners of Okeer's mouth as he spoke fervently about his creation. "He is the culmination of my life's work. I will not leave without him."

Shepard ground his teeth. "Why can't it ever be easy? Fuck me." He cocked his rifle and stormed off in the other direction, reaching the top of the staircase before turning back to them. "Come on, then. We have to do this quickly."

A mix of heavy mechs and tank-bred krogan were visible through the large windows guarding the mercenary leader. Tali was forced to catch herself on the railing as her tired feet tripped over themselves on the final stair. Normally, she'd still be in good shape despite the day's exertions, but her still-compromised immune system was not beneficial for staving off exhaustion. She shook her head in a mostly successful attempt to clear it and lined up behind the entrance to Jedore's lair. Once she was in place, Shepard made a fist, and they charged into the hangar.

The heavies sprayed bullets in their direction, cutting off Tali and Kasumi from Jack and Shepard. The vibrations from the small pieces of metal bouncing off their cover made it hard to see the screen on her omnitool as Tali started working on their shields. Kasumi's labored breathing distracted her, and she looked over at her companion in concern. A dark red stain was pooling underneath her calf, though she quickly staunched it with an application of medigel.

"They nicked me pretty good," she grunted, testing her movements. "I don't think I'll be leaving this spot for a bit. Not with all of the guns, anyway."

Tali slipped the thief her pistol. "Keep them from coming up that ramp. Shepard and Jack should have the other side. I'll focus on bringing down the heavies."

Kasumi grinned as she took out her own pistol and pointed both weapons at the incline. "This is totally impractical, but I feel too much like a badass not to use both."

Tali flinched when an explosion rocked the cover where Shepard and Jack were hiding behind. The biotic was trading attacks with a couple of krogan that were attempting to force their way onto their level while Shepard poked his head out whenever there was a break in the gunfire from the heavy mechs. Tali shorted out the machines shooting at Shepard, giving him an opening to wail into them. _Perfect. Now where did that last mech go?_

Something punched her in the small of her back, launching her forward. Her ears sang with a high pitched whistle, and her vision went dark for a few seconds. She thought someone was calling her name, but she couldn't quite make out the words through the whine. _What was I doing? Where…where am I right now?_

Her eyes blinked slowly as they focused on her surroundings. Her leg was in front of her, stretching up above her head. _That's odd._ Her foot seemed to be caught in some sort of wire mesh.

A hooded head peered over the edge of the hole. "Are you alright down there?"

Tali tried to wave but found her right arm trapped by a broken piece of concrete. "I'm fine," she called up, working on extricating her appendage with her free hand.

She seemed to have fallen a good fifty feet down below her companions, no doubt hitting many of the various metal poles and steel beams along the way if her bruises were anything to go by. _A rocket must have blown apart a portion of the floor. I'm lucky I didn't take a direct hit._

The block of concrete didn't budge no matter how she wiggled and pushed, and her leg prevented her from getting good leverage. Frustrated, she flopped back and tried to see what was going on upstairs. There was still plenty of gunfire; she needed to help them, but she couldn't even provide technical support since her omnitool required a free hand to operate it.

"How are you holding up?" She asked through the radio.

She heard Shepard yell "Jack, don't!" right before another giant explosion rocked the tower. Pieces of debris fell past Tali, and another large section of floor collapsed, taking out several support beams with it.

"That didn't seem good-" The metal sheet Tali was lying against suddenly disappeared, and she found herself dangling over an impossibly long drop hanging only by her entangled foot. With the floor gone, her arm was free once more; unfortunately, she was experiencing too much vertigo to register anything but the strong desire to vomit.

"Send the shuttle to our location, we need immediate evac," Shepard ordered. "Jack, help Kasumi and go check on the krogan. I'll get Tali."

She looked down, or up as it were, and saw Shepard crouching at the edge of the hole. "Oh no. Okay, try not to move too much. I'll make my way down to you."

The building groaned in protest, and it felt like the entire structure shifted ten feet to the right. Shepard almost fell in, and Tali felt her foot loosen from its cage. "What the hell did she hit?" Tali spat.

"Nothing good."

"Don't come down here. You'll just end up falling. I'll find my own way down."

"Out of the question." Shepard stepped on a tentative foothold, but the ledge broke away as soon as he placed a little weight on it.

"There isn't enough time." Tali pulled herself up to her foot and grabbed onto some spiky rebar, twisting her foot around and tugging on her leg. "I'll move to the outside of the building. After the shuttle picks you up, come find me."

"But-"

"Go!" Tali finally yanked her foot out, wincing at the pain. "The quicker you board the shuttle, the quicker you'll get to me."

She could see it was killing him to leave her, but there was nothing he could do for her. Even if they brought Jack over to the hole, too much debris had collapsed between her and the surface. Her only way forward was down and out.

"I will see you soon," he said through clenched teeth. "You're going to make it out. I know it."

And with that, she was alone. She hoisted herself onto a twisted catwalk, crawling through a maze of rubble as the building shuddered around her. _I'll never get out of here in time at this rate._

The catwalk broke loose, and she tumbled down a couple stories worth of mangled metal before her back crashed onto a flight of stairs and knocked the air from her body. Wheezing, she slowly got to her feet using the wall for support. The fall turned out to be a stroke of luck as the stairs were mostly intact, and she hobbled down them at a steady pace for a few minutes while structure continued to shake itself apart. _What the hell did that woman blow up?_

A distant screeching sound made its way down to her, getting louder at a rapid pace. She surmised that the stairs were no longer an option and hopped onto a beam, using it to move towards the outside of the ramshackle building. She stood at the edge and looked down. _At least I can see the ground now. Ugh…maybe that's not a good thing._ She gripped the nearby pole tighter.

"I'm in position. Where are you?"

"Making our way there."

Tali looked up and watched as the upper half of the building started to implode. An empty tank hurtled into a nearby support beam, completely obliterating it. "Hurry please."

The half-finished scaffolding she was standing on dropped a few inches and almost threw her off as the shuttle came into view. The side was open, and she saw Shepard laying on the floor with his hand reaching out to her. "Jump! I'll catch you!"

She swallowed her fear and coiled her legs, springing forward as a chunk of concrete shattered the perch. The force actually bucked her landing upwards, giving her ample clearance to make the jump. She easily sailed into the shuttle over Shepard's prone body and smashed Jack into the other door.

"What the fuck?!" Jack shook her off and held her bleeding nose, glaring at the quarian. "I almost blasted your stupid ass out of the ship. Scared the shit out of me."

Tali didn't bother apologizing and lay on the floor where she'd fallen, closing her eyes in relief. The deafening rumble let her know she'd made it just in time. Shepard leaned over her looking concerned, and she started to laugh uncontrollably.

"What? Why are you laughing?"

"I knew you'd blow up the building. I called it. Stupid bosh'tet." She looked around, noting a distinct lack of Okeer. "The krogan didn't make it?"

"No. But he left us a present: we just have to see if he'll help us or try to kill us."


	20. Chapter 20: Turning Point

**Hey everyone! Thank you for your support and understanding! Anyhow, things are settling down for me a bit, so that's good news for the story front. Enjoy!**

* * *

Jack instantly tensed up when Shepard appeared in the cargo hold. She sprang to her feet and stood with her shoulders hunched, glowering at the empty stairs over Shepard's shoulder. "Expected this a bit sooner, and with a fuck ton more people to back you up. You got balls, I'll give you that."

Shepard halted and gazed at her quizzically. "What?"

"Don't play games with me, Shepard." She hoisted a tiny rucksack onto her back. "I know I fucked up, okay? Just drop me off at the next port, and I'll be on my way."

He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at her. "Just like that? I'm surprised you're not tearing your way through the ship as we speak."

"I…I'm still a little tired from the last mission." She glared at him. "That doesn't mean I couldn't take a bunch of you down with me if you try anything."

Shepard rubbed his jaw. "A bunch of you? No colorful names for us, then?"

Now it was Jack's turn to look confused. "The fuck does that matter? Look, are you gonna let me out of here or not?"

"I didn't come down here to kick you out. Or start a fight, or anything like that."

Jack's confusion deepened. "What do you mean?"

Shepard shrugged. "I was just wanting to see if you've made any progress with those Cerberus files I gave you."

"The Cerberus files? I don't…no, not yet." She shook her head. "I dropped a building on your girlfriend. Why haven't you tried to shoot me yet?"

"I know."

"I didn't mean to," she said defensively. "That big fucker was about to split your head open. I just threw it away; I didn't see the reactor."

"I know."

"And you didn't shout 'don't' until the bastard was halfway across the room," she continued, starting to pace back and forth. "Do you know how hard it is to stop two tons of metal once I send it flying? Really fucking hard. Nearly passed out like a little bitch just trying."

"I know."

She rounded on him. "You don't know shit! Why are you just standing there?!"

Shepard slowly walked over and sat on the bench across from Jack's bed, gesturing for her to sit as well. She did, squatting on her mattress with her feet underneath her.

"What you did with the asari was out of line, bordering on insubordination. That was your one free pass. If we ever get to the point where we can trust each other more, that might change, but for now that was it. It was intentional, reckless, and unnecessary. Now, when you destroyed that building, I knew you didn't mean to do it. We were in the middle of a huge firefight, and like you said that saved my life. You also clearly feel at least partially guilty for the unintended consequences. I have no problem with you actions during that battle."

Jack had no idea how to react. With her attitude and lust for murder, people simply assumed (usually correctly) that accidents like that were done on purpose. Being given the benefit of the doubt was as foreign a concept to her as keeping vulgarity out of her vocabulary.

Shepard appeared to be waiting for a response of some sort, but Jack didn't have anything for him other than a slightly less hostile gaze than normal. After a little while, he nodded and leaned back against the wall, deciding to continue the conversation himself. "Now that that's out of the way, tell me a bit about yourself Jack."

"What do you want to know?" she asked, not bothering to deflect with sarcasm or anger for once.

"Let's not dive too deep just yet; don't want to scare you off," he said with a smirk. "Those tattoos have a story?"

She chuckled. "What a boring ass question. Some are for kills, some are from prisons I've been in, some are none of your damn business, and some a just for show. Next."

"Guess I should have expected that," he said dryly. "You don't make a lot of friends, do you?"

"Friends are good for one thing: getting you killed. Everyone wants something from you. It's easier if they're just dead. Every person I kill is one less person who could try to kill me. It's like I'm adding to my lifespan every time I break some fucker's neck."

"That's doesn't quite make sense."

"I never said it did," she snapped. "It feels good to kill people, and that's one of the reasons why."

"One of the reasons?" he asked.

Images of slaughtering children in a tiny ring and having narcotics pumped into her system as a reward flashed in her mind. "Yeah. Too deep. Next."

"Fair enough." Shepard crossed his arms. "How did you end up in Purgatory?"

"I was stupid. I blew up a Cerberus training facility trying to stir them up and shit. It worked; these assassin fuckers were trying to kill me, but the Blue Suns caught me before I could finish them off. They locked me up in that damn ship."

Shepard whistled. "You really don't like Cerberus. I don't either, and I have my own reasons. What are yours?"

This uncomfortable line of questioning had reached its end. Jack shook her head. "Sorry Shepard. We're done now."

"Okay." He stood up and stretched. "Thanks for talking with me. I would stay down here for a while if I were you; I'm planning on opening the krogan tank soon, and I'm not sure what he might do once he's free."

Jack snorted. "If I hear any screaming, I'll come put him down for you."

"Noted."

"Hey Shepard," she called out as he walked away. "No one's ever taken the time to ask me stuff like that. So…thanks. Now fuck off."

* * *

"This is a bad idea," Garrus said.

"Nah, it's fine."

Tali eyed the tank apprehensively. "This is a really bad idea."

"We faced down krogan before with no problem. It'll be fine."

Garrus glanced at the ceiling. "EDI, tell Shepard this is a bad idea."

"Commander, the probability of an outcome resulting in serious injury is high. I would not recommend proceeding with your plan to open the containment pod."

"Shepard, I'm on the same side as the AI. That should tell you something," Tali said.

Shepard chuckled as he stepped up to the tank. "You worry too much. I know it's risky; that's why I brought you here. I wouldn't be stupid enough to open the tank without backup. The benefits outweigh the possible drawbacks. He could be a tremendous asset."

"Or a tremendous ass," Garrus muttered.

"He is the pinnacle of krogan physique; that does include his buttocks, so your statement is likely accurate," EDI added helpfully.

Shepard was gleaming at Garrus and didn't notice EDI's strange joke. "You made a pun! In English! I'm so proud of you!"

"Huh? I did?"

Slightly put out, Shepard turned his attention to the slumbering form resting in the glass chamber. "Back up to the other side of the room. He'll probably be extremely confused, so let me talk to him and don't say anything. Unless I'm actively dying, do not interfere. Okay?"

They begrudgingly nodded and retreated to the entrance. "EDI: open the tank."

"Logging that this action is being taken against my recommendation. Opening the tank, Shepard."

The liquid poured out of the chamber, splashing through the metal grates and soaking some crates in the cargo hold below. The krogan collapsed as his suspension ended, his knees striking the ground with a resounding thud. His palms slammed forward, stopping his face a few inches from hitting the floor as well. He heaved up the remainder of the fluid still trapped in his lungs, his body quivering as it adjusted to its new environment. He took his first breaths of air in ragged gasps, and his eyes blinked rapidly as they tried to sort the images flooding into them.

After a mere five seconds, his demeanor abruptly changed. His shivering ceased, and his intense gaze focused on the man standing in front of him. Before Shepard had time to think _uh oh_ , the huge krogan had him pinned against the wall with his forearm pressing on Shepard's throat. If Shepard hadn't been wearing his armor, it was likely the force would have crushed his windpipe. He wedged his cybernetically enhanced arm between the krogan's and the wall which effectively relieved the pressure but kept him suspended. His feet were dangling helplessly a foot off the ground, but he motioned Tali and Garrus to stay put with his free hand.

It was strange; Shepard expected malice or rage to be contorting the krogan's face considering his aggression. Instead, the hulking beast looked detached from his current situation, maybe even bored.

"Human. Male."

Shepard glanced past the beefy arm keeping him aloft. "Krogan. Definitely male."

"An attempt at humor in the face of death." The krogan stated this as if cataloguing the information away in a file. "Before you die, I need a name."

Shepard met the icy blue gaze without flinching. "My name is Commander Shepard. This is my ship, and you will stand down. I didn't wake you up to fight you."

"Not your name. Mine." His piercing eyes narrowed. "There are words my head. Legacy…Okeer…Grunt. Hm. Grunt will do."

"Grunt?" Shepard brushed past that interesting choice. "Okay Grunt. I am not your enemy."

Grunt kept him pinned impassively. "Okeer tried to imprint his will upon mine. He failed. I know many things, but without a reason to fight, one fight is as good as another. Guess I'll start with you."

"You want to fight, huh?" Shepard asked, thinking quickly. "I have many enemies. If you try to kill me now, you will die even if you manage to take me down. However, if you join my crew, I promise you will have a hell of a lot of fighting in your future." He pressed the barrel of his gun into Grunt's bare chest. "Your choice."

Grunt glanced down in surprise. "Huh. I didn't see that. I like you, human."

He let Shepard slide back to the ground. "If your enemies are not worthy, I will have to kill you, Shepard."

Shepard laughed. "You won't be disappointed. Let's go get you some clothes first though, huh?"

As he went to fetch the large sheet they had brought, Jack burst into the room with glowing fists. Garrus and Tali swung around in surprise, bringing their weapons to bare on the biotic. She froze, looking around at the decidedly intact crew and the passive krogan. "I thought…I thought I heard something. I was coming to, uh…whatever."

She relaxed her stance and let her fists return to their normal color. "Right. Well, fuck all of you for making me come up here. Who opens up a fucking krogan in the middle of a tiny fucking room? You all have shit for brains."

"Thanks for worrying about us," Shepard said as she slipped back out.

"Go fuck yourself."

* * *

Ashley let her head fall against the table, desperately trying to keep herself from punching all of these idiots in the face. No one seemed to notice; they were too busy arguing with each other about the consequences of accepting Alliance help. As she had been told countless times before, this was a free, self-governing colony that included all of its citizens in its decision making processes. Every. Last. One. The most influential people attended in person, amounting to about three hundred men and women crammed into a much too small meeting hall. The rest of the colony joined in remotely via the galaxy's loudest, most confusing conference call possible.

She was fine with everyone getting to have input in the welfare of the colony. It was a noble idea. She was not fine that any and all decisions made by the colony could be brought under review every Friday night if enough members protested the outcome. So, for the fourth week in a row, she sat squashed between the 300 pound butcher who stank of overused perfume and the prim, sharp education leader who never seemed to be satisfied with anything the council did, listening to the unintelligible roar of squabbling colonists and occasionally giving input on various specifications for the defenses she would be providing when called upon. _I think I'm stuck in hell._

She suddenly noticed that the room was significantly quieter than usual, and she jerked up to see almost everyone staring at her. She blinked and shook her head. "Sorry, what was the question?"

Traynor coughed apologetically. He wore a set of extremely nice looking robes, something that might be fit for the Council. However, the image was offset by the fact that they were two feet too short on him, revealing his worn jeans and dirty boots underneath. He was one of Ashley's favorites. "Several of our citizens have requested to see the, uh, contract again Chief Williams."

"Contract…are you serious? They're still going on about that?"

"I am afraid so. Would you care to explain the situation once more?"

Ashley let out a long suffering sigh. "As I have said before, there is no contract. No strings attached. Zilch. Nada. It is just some precautionary defenses the Alliance is providing to outlying colonies that match the description of the other colonies that have recently disappeared."

The education leader sniffed. "The Alliance would never give out free defense towers because they were concerned for our safety. Even if they did, why would they send _you_?" The word 'you' was pronounced with a particularly nasty sneer. "Aren't you some sort of big Alliance hotshot after that thing with the Citadel?"

Ashley shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know why I was picked for this…auspicious task. If you figure out what I did wrong to get posted here, let me know so I can go beg for my old job back." That got a few chuckles out of the crowd.

Traynor glanced at the clock on the wall. "Okay everyone, we're already forty minutes past our allotted time slot. Please vote now whether we ratify the decision to accept the Alliance aid for the _third_ time or we refuse." As expected, the end tally was almost identical to the numbers last week; two to one in favor of ratification.

"Fantastic. Maybe next week the council could focus on other issues our colony is facing like the water shortage on the eastern farms?" Traynor hopefully asked, but Ashley was fairly certain she was the only one who heard him. She pushed through the milling crowd and followed him outside, taking in the mostly finished defense turret looming in the distance.

"I'm not sure how many meetings about this bloody turret I can take," he said massaging his temples. "Please tell me it will be finished before next Friday?"

"Actually, I think it should be up and running by tomorrow. I'm a little worried about the targeting system, though. In any case, it shouldn't take more than a week to calibrate even if it's off."

"Thank God," he said fervently. "Not that I mind you being here. I'm just ready for this project to be done."

"I get it. That makes two of us." Ashley sat on the stairs and breathed in the fresh, Horizon air. "How's your daughter doing?"

"She's well. I think she's feeling a bit cooped up after her time in London, but it's been good to have her home."

"Good. Well, I should be getting to my bunk. Another long day of work tomorrow."

"I understand. Good night Chief Williams."

"Night." As she walked through the grassy thoroughfare, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She whipped around, her eyes peering through the darkness to try and see what had spooked her. _Someone's watching me._ After a few minutes of searching, she wrote it off as paranoia or a disgruntled colonist watching her from one of the houses and continued on her way.

Unbeknownst to her, a shadow zipped across the sky, heading back to its master. Their sources had been correct. Shepard's comrade was stationed here: the Collectors had their next target.


	21. Chapter 21: Cracks

**Hey everyone! Here's the newest chapter! We should be moving on from "Act 1" and stepping into the Horizon mission very soon. Thanks for sticking it out with the story, inconsistent uploads and all. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Distress signal identified: Hugo Gernsback. Location: Aeia. No search and rescue team sent. Disappearance occurred over ten years ago. Change of survivors is negligible. Resources will not be allocated to this project._

Miranda bit her finger as she read the barebones report. She had half a mind to keep the information a secret in case she ever needed leverage but decided against it. She still owed Jacob a small favor at the very least. She bounced the email through various channels, ensuring that it would arrive anonymously in Jacob's inbox. She didn't bother putting in too much effort to mask her trail: he wasn't very good at the technical aspects of life, and she doubted he was close enough friends with the quarian to ask for her assistance. Plus, she didn't care all that much if he did find out. She simply wished to avoid his suspicion and inevitable interrogation about the information.

The light blinked on her private communications line. Only one person would be contacting her from that. "EDI, lock my door."

"Door secured, Miss Lawson."

Miranda pulled any notes she thought might be relevant to the front of her screen before answering the call. "Lawson speaking."

"Hello Miranda." A brief pause for the customary pull on a cigarette. "Progress report."

"All available dossiers have been investigated with 100% recruitment rate, though Okeer's experiment is replacing the warlord."

"So he did open the tank." A long sigh. "That is his prerogative. I do wonder if he ever reads my emails or just puts them in the trash immediately. Have you made any headway with Shepard?"

Miranda grimaced. "No. Him and that quarian appear to be inseparable."

"I feared as much. I had hoped your charms might be enough to turn his affections…but no matter. Miss Zorah has proven much more amenable than I thought. Still, keep prodding. Any extra ties we can anchor Shepard to Cerberus with is beneficial. This is not a high priority task; Shepard's loyalties won't matter if the Reapers wipe us all out."

"Yes sir."

A pause for a drink. "The Alliance took our bait. They sent Chief Williams to Horizon. If our theory is correct, the Collectors won't be able to resist such a prime target with one of Shepard's friends thrown in to boot. Keep Shepard in close range of that colony. We'll have a very short window to catch them in the act, and I want you to be ready."

"Of course."

"It should go without saying that this information does not leave your cabin."

Miranda stiffened. "You're right, sir. It should go without saying. We will be in position for your signal."

"Now now," The Illusive Man said chidingly. "You wouldn't be getting a tone with me, would you Miss Lawson?"

She reddened. "No sir."

"I have no doubt in your abilities or your judgement, but some things need to be stated clearly, even when they are obvious. We cannot afford mistakes on this project, Miranda."

"I know. There won't be. I brought Shepard back to life when everyone said it couldn't be done. I don't make mistakes, and I don't fail."

"Good. You know the consequences if you do." He severed the connection, leaving her alone in her office with a couple of clenched fists. She had done nothing to deserve the thinly veiled threat or the reminder of the gravity of their mission. If anything, with what she had been given, he should be singing her praises for their success so far.

She breathed in deeply, calming her pride. There was a lot at stake, both financially and for the good of humanity. She could understand his concern and wouldn't take it personally; she was a professional. Once this mission was over and the Collectors were defeated ( _and they WILL be defeated_ ), no one would ever doubt her again.

* * *

"Would it be too much ta have a couple o' chairs down here?" Ken grumbled.

"You know as well as I do that we need to be standing for this job. There's too many screens to watch and manipulate without some movement." Gabby sifted through the holographic data sheet, comparing it to the readings coming from the engine. Her dashboard was completely full, and she demonstrated her point by leaning over and flicking away a window that was no longer useful. "Besides, it's good for you."

"Tha' explains why I hate it so much."

Tali let their playful squabbling that had become a fixture of working in Engineering fade into the background. Her fingers were not as dexterous as usual, fumbling over simple words and wearing out the backspace button. She clenched her jaw as she fought to maintain her focus. It wasn't her compatriots' faults; ignoring them was as natural as breathing at this point. She probably would have found it more difficult to work if she didn't have those two goobers to listen to every now and then. The problem was she couldn't get out of her own head.

She kept envisioning the countless moments they could have died on the last mission, and each one made her pulse spike. She'd forgotten just how unnerving facing death over and over again could be when you had something to live for. Her frayed nerves were making her more of a detriment then an asset for the Engineering team. She stopped what she was doing and took a deep breath. _Just calm down. Everything is fine._

Something touched her hip. Her arm shot out of its own accord, knifing towards the neck of the person behind her as she whirled around. Shepard easily knocked the blow aside and stepped in close, pinning her against the console and making her lose her balance. A couple of knickknacks clattered to the floor as her body phased through the holographic screen and jostled the workbench.

Gabby and Ken glanced at each other. "Hey Ken, I think it's time for our break."

"Whaddya mean? Tha's not scheduled for another-"

"No, it's definitely break time," Gabby said firmly, dragging Ken out of the room by his collar.

Tali was mortified. Shepard immediately released her with a look of chagrin, but before he could say anything her apologies came spilling out. "I'm so sorry, I just reacted! I didn't know it was you, I just felt someone behind me and got spooked and I've been on edge lately and I was trying to not be so tense and then something touched me and-"

She was surprised when her voice started to break. "I um…I don't know why I'm crying," she said sheepishly, annoyed as hot tears streaked down her cheeks. Her hands began shaking uncontrollably, and before she knew it she was having a full-blown meltdown. Shepard held her close and murmured some comforting words while she clutched him like a drowning man clinging to a piece of driftwood. It was so hard to breathe. The world around her was spiraling into blackness, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She tuned out everything except the sound of Shepard's voice, ignoring her translator and simply listening to the deep timbre of his words. His gentle rumbling reverberated through her, pressed against him as she was, and it ever so slowly helped to ease the constricting panic in her throat to a bearable level. She gulped down the last sobs and shook her head as her heartrate slowed to a normal level.

He looked down at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I…yeah. Maybe. I don't know. I have no idea what came over me just then." She stepped away and started picking up the items from her desk that had ended up on the floor. "Crazy right?"

"You are not crazy," Shepard said emphatically. He bent over and helped get the rest of her things, setting them on the table. "What's wrong?"

She shrugged. "It's nothing. Well, it's nothing new anyway."

"Okay. Care to elaborate?" he asked with a smile.

She fidgeted with her hands as she tried to vocalize what she was feeling. "I love this life, you know. The adventure, the excitement, how our actions really matter. But how many times can we escape death before it catches up to us? We were so incredibly lucky when that building started to collapse. I should have died a million different ways, but I didn't."

Her cheeks burned with shame, and her shoulders slumped a little. "Maybe I am a little afraid of dying. Our luck has to have run out by now. I don't want this to end. Not again."

Shepard nodded in understanding, chewing his lip as he stared at the floor. "Can I let you in on a little secret?"

"What?"

"I'm afraid too. I'm terrified that I'm going to catch a bullet and leave you alone again." His voice sounded tired, completely different from the confident and steady tone he always used. She looked over at him, tracing the orange cracks in his skin with her eyes. It was only there for a half a second, but then he blinked and his steely determination returned with force.

"But I know that's not going to happen."

Tali snorted. "You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." He rubbed his jaw, exposing more of the lines as his skin stretched tight. "You're right. Any luck we had should have run dry a long time ago, but we're still here. There was Saren, Sovereign, hell I literally suffocated to death and then crashed into a planet, but I'm alive. Something doesn't want us gone yet, that's for sure." He met her eyes and grinned, his face lighting up like it always did when he looked at her. "We're going to get through this. Trust me."

She shook her head in amazement. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You say exactly what I need to hear. It's almost infuriating." She took his hand in her own, gently playing with his fingers. "Thank you."

"Of course," he murmured, resting his forehead on her mask. "I'm going to keep you out of the next few missions, okay?"

"No," she said, her tone inflexible. "That will only be doing more harm than good. As long as I know you're safe, I'll be alright."

"Tali, a pep talk from me can only go so far. You need a break, and you know it. We have plenty of agents to choose from this time around."

"But they-"

"I'm not saying every mission," he said, plowing through her protests. "Just take a couple off every now and then. Okay? I need you at your best when we're out there."

"Fine," she said a bit sulkily. "You don't take any off."

He smiled sadly. "I don't have the luxury."

"That's true." Tali rubbed her palm along his shirt and felt the corded muscles underneath. "You could take some other things off…"

"Oh really?" He pulled her in tight, his arm cradling the small of her back. "Did you have something in mind, Miss vas Neema?"

She giggled, her face blushing furiously. "Maybe I do," she whispered. Her fingers slipped beneath the thin material, slowly pulling it over Shepard's head to reveal his bare skin. His torso was riddled with fresh scars and wounds as well as a few patches of the customary cybernetics, but he wouldn't have looked like Shepard if his body was unmarked. She gasped when he pushed her onto the table, his eyes staring into hers through the visor. Any moisture left in her mouth vanished as his hand traveled from her waist to the outside of her thigh, and she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him to her.

"I hate this suit," she groaned, holding his face in her hands as she rubbed the glass against his forehead.

"I don't know. I think you look pretty good in it," he said with a roguish grin. "But I know what you mean."

"Ah can it, Gabby, I jus' need ta get my…Oh." Tali turned to glare at Ken, who stood in the opening to the Engineering bay with his mouth ajar. "I beg yer apologies," he stammered as he promptly spun around. He did a sort of awkward shuffle step back to his console as if debating whether he should still get whatever he had come to retrieve. He quickly snatched the item and almost sprinted out of the room. Tali heard a loud smack, followed by a screech of pain from Ken.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO IN THERE!"

"Wha'? I need my snacks if we're really goin' on break-"

A second slapping sound echoed from the corridor, and Gabby's angry voice faded into the distance as they retreated into a different part of the ship. Tali rolled her eyes and looked back at Shepard.

"Do you see what I have to deal with?"

"They're great, and you know it." He stepped away and pulled his shirt back on while she hopped back onto the ground. "That was probably a good thing anyway. The cabin is the safest place for any mask removals."

Tali scoffed. "Someone's a bit cocky. Maybe that wasn't going anywhere."

He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. "Uh huh."

"Okay, maybe it was," she conceded. "Still, it's not like it's all that much safer up there. The AI filtering-"

"EDI."

Tali's jaw tightened. "Fine. EDI filtering out the air helps, but only to a degree. For any real decrease in risk, there would have to be some sort of decontamination unit set up for the room. We have specialized places on our ships for that sort of thing, but only a few. There extremely expensive, and the Fleet can't afford to skimp out on cheaper models. Those units are probably the only thing quarians buy in prime condition, come to think of it."

Shepard's face became thoughtful. "A decontamination unit, you say? Where would you find one?"

Tali laughed. "That's sweet, but there's no way. It is insanely expensive, John."

"I think money is a little less important than your safety."

"Not this kind of money," she said only half-jokingly. She pulled up a search on the devices and showed him the price of one model. His eyes nearly fell out of his head.

"Holy shit."

"I told you. And this is their smallest model; you'd have to get at least a size up to cover your cabin." She stroked his arm. "I appreciate the thought, but I don't think that's going to be a possibility."

Shepard shrugged. "You never know. I make an insane amount of enemies, but I also make a few friends along the way. We'll just have to see."

"Sure," she said, unconvinced.

He glanced down at his wrist as his omnitool blinked. "Oh great. The Illusive Man wants to speak to me apparently."

"Ew. Have fun."

"I won't," he said, waving at her as he left for the elevator. "We'll continue this discussion later."


	22. Chapter 22: Arrival

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the huge gap between this chapter and the last. There were reasons, but it was not because I had ever given up on this story. Thanks for sticking with it through this long break!**

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The sun blazed brightly in the sky, enveloping the town in a pleasant heat that eased the muscles and warmed the soul. It was one of those days where everything seemed to move at a slower pace than usual. People meandered lazily down the grassy paths as they went about their business, and a gentle breeze made rippling, golden waves out of the miles of crops surrounding the small civilization. The picturesque scene could have been plucked straight out of a postcard.

A tiny cloud passed overhead, casting a brief second of shade before the light returned. Samantha Traynor shielded her eyes and looked about in an attempt to find it, but they only thing she saw was the endless blue of the summer sky. It was nice to get away from Earth for a while; London's dense population was exciting, but it wore on the nerves as the months turned into years. _If only I could get a decent connection to the extranet, this place would be perfect._ She hadn't played her favorite video game in far too long, and she was itching to return to the lab and tackle a new problem. She loved the fresh air, and she loved her parents, but she was more than ready for tomorrow's departure.

As she crested a small hill, she saw Chief Williams talking with the head of the diplomatic committee and sped up her leisurely pace. She knew their communication systems were experiencing some issues today, and she had a few ideas she wanted to run by the Chief on how to fix them. Her hip struck the edge of a large crate lying in the middle of the grass as she broke out into a light jog, causing her to wobble a bit to the side. "Bloody things," she muttered under her breath. There were dozens of crates and haphazard half-walls jutting out of buildings on this one avenue alone. _This is why the job of "intercity transportation" shouldn't be given to a single farmer who couldn't care less how the city's streets were laid out._ Traynor was not the biggest fan of the way the colony was run, to say the least.

"Chief Williams!" Traynor called out, waving with a smile when Williams glanced her way. Her darkly intensive stare sent a shiver of goosebumps down Traynor's back, partly from fear and partly from…something else.

"I'll talk to you later, Lilith," Williams said, turning to Traynor. "Hey there. You're Traynor's daughter, right?"

"Yes. Samantha Traynor, at your service." She started to bow before changing it into a clumsy salute at the last second. "I wanted to speak to you about the comms."

Williams sighed. "Yes, I know they're out. We're working on fixing them as soon as possible, okay?"

"Actually, I was hoping to provide some assistance. It's sort of my area of expertise within the Alliance, you see. I have some ideas that I'd like to run by the engineers, if I may."

Ashley shrugged. "I don't see the harm in it. I'm next to useless with that stuff anyway. There are some people looking into it right now, just over there in the comms center." She pointed at one of the taller structures found in the colony, a solid three story building.

"Yes, ma'am!" Traynor spun around and set off towards the center. _Shit._ She scurried back around and saluted Williams again.

The Chief awkwardly returned the gesture. "Go on, then. Let me know if you make any progress."

Traynor didn't respond. Her body was frozen, and her eyes were fixated on a dark, looming shape that had appeared behind Williams. Ashley whipped around and pulled out her rifle, aiming it up into the sky and looking through her scope at the massive entity.

She didn't understand how no one had noticed the monstrosity until now. It was close enough to take up a large portion of her field of vision and was hurtling straight down towards the ground at an alarming pace. Traynor assumed it must be a ship of some kind, but what kind of space vessel of that magnitude could withstand the heat of reentry into an atmosphere? "Oh my God. Is-is that a Reaper?"

The Chief shook her head brusquely. "No. It looks completely different from Sovereign. That is the source of whatever has been abducting colonies all over the Terminus Systems." She tried her radio, but the loud static was easily heard by Traynor standing a few feet away. "Damnit!"

Traynor gulped as the ship continued its eerily silent descent. A small, hardly discernable cloud separated itself from the main vessel and started drifting through the air in lazy circles. "What do we do? The gun is offline still, right?"

Williams gripped Traynor's shoulders firmly. "Listen to me. You have to fix the comms center, now. Do whatever it takes. We need to get a message to Alliance command. Tell them 'the fox is in the hen house'. Security code Lima-Bravo-Zulu-Seven-Delta. Got it?"

Traynor blinked in confusion. "I…wait, did you know this was going to happen?"

Williams audibly ground her teeth, and Traynor shrunk away from the ferocity in her face. "We don't have time to talk about this! That thing is about to land. We need support! Do you understand?!"

"Yes ma'am! Got it!" She took off towards the building, seeing the panic ensuing around her for the first time. Williams tried to organize the evacuation efforts, pulling people aside and directing the foot traffic away from the incoming ship. The little cloud stopped its seemingly aimless wandering and hovered in place for a few seconds, growing larger and larger as more dark mist seeped out of the ship and joined the main group. The cloud suddenly shot out in four different directions, streaking straight towards different parts of the colony. One of the lines was heading directly for them.

Traynor flinched and almost tripped over her own feet as Williams unloaded into the dark shape, her laughter booming out over the gunshots. "It's been too long since I've gotten to do this!"

Traynor reached the door and swiped herself in, looking back one last time to see how the Chief was doing. At their current distance, she was able to ascertain that the mass was actually made up of thousands of tiny insects. They converged on Williams' position, completely enveloping her as their wings buzzed angrily. A couple of seconds later, they parted, revealing Williams' frozen body.

She slammed the door shut, entering in a lockdown procedure for the access panel on the inside. The lights on the ceiling turned to red, and an alarm blared overhead as Traynor made her way further into the building.

"Okay, think think think think think," she said to herself as she ran. "The Chief was still standing after she froze. Looked like some sort of purple field around her. Stasis field, got to be; doubt that occurs naturally for these creatures. Maybe some sort of genetically enhanced bug? Robots?" She heard the sound of glass shattering, accompanied by a renewal of the bugs resonant droning. She skidded around a corner and pushed her way into the stair well, climbing as quickly as her slightly out of shape legs would allow.

"I can't let them touch me," she wheezed. "Regular guns won't really work. I have to stall them long enough to fix the comms. If they really are drones, someone must be controlling them. All I have to do is disrupt the signal."

She entered the control center to find it deserted. "Damn it," she muttered, stepping over some tools lying on the ground and seating herself at a computer. She quickly scanned through the log and easily determined how their comms were being jammed. The tricky part would be fixing it before she got frozen as well.

She determined the extremely broad range of signals that were currently being jammed as well as the approximate area that was being affected. "Wow. That's a little bit of overkill, don't you think? Still…if these are all of the frequencies they're targeting…"

By this point, she could hear the buzzing growing louder. "Sounds like the buggers got to the stairs. Well, here goes nothing."

Doing some quick finagling with her local router, some tin foil, a couple of wires, and a piece of chewing gum she pulled out of her pocket, she placed the makeshift contraption next to the exit and waited by the outlet. She stayed poised to plug the cord in until the small bangs on the door looked like they were about to cave the door down.

She thrust the cable into the wall and jumped back, half expecting the device to short out. However, nothing but silence greeted her. "Shit." She turned toward the door in trepidation, the fear rising in her throat as she imagined the insects swarming over her like they had over Chief Williams. That was when she realized she was actually hearing silence. The bangs had stopped.

She laughed to herself in relief and zipped over to the desk again. These machines appeared to be extremely advanced, so she doubted her gimmick would permanently disable them. Still, it would hopefully buy her enough time.

Five minutes of intense typing later, she found a way to bypass the jammer. "Child's play," she said, shaking her head to herself.

"This is Samantha Traynor. The fox is in the hen house, I repeat, the fox is in the hen house. Confirmation code Lima, Bravo, Seven…no wait, I mean, Lima, Bravo, Zulu, Seven…Delta! Over."

There was a slight pause before the radio crackled back to her. "Message received. Sending reinforcements now. ETA six hours, over."

"Six hours? We're under attack right now! Are there any units nearby that can assist, over?"

She didn't receive a response. Pounding the desk in frustration, she desperately searched though the nearby channels in an attempt to find anybody that might come to their aid. To her surprise, she found a ship approaching the colony at that very moment. The signature wasn't Alliance, but something seemed oddly familiar about it.

* * *

Even in the state of immediate peril she found herself in, it was hard for Ashley not to be bored. After the adrenaline subsided and she'd resigned herself to her invisible cage, there really wasn't much to do. Thankfully the stasis didn't affect her eyes, and she could look around freely in the area immediately in front of her. She would have gone insane without the ability to at least actively observe her surroundings.

Around half an hour passed with Ashley periodically straining with all her might to move as much as a pinky toe before something entered her field of vision. It was humanoid in figure, but the shape was nothing like she'd ever seen before. The outer skin appeared to be made out of a husk-like material, almost like an overgrown insect. The four eyes only enhanced this idea, as did the small set of extra arms and thin, translucent wings protruding from the back.

A few more of the creatures came into view toting a large container that hovered just above the ground. The box was suspiciously coffin shaped, and dread filled Ashley's stomach when the aliens hoisted one of the frozen colonists into it and sealed it shut. _God, now would be a really great time for a miracle._

The creatures seemed to be going about their human collecting in a systematic manner. With their current pattern, it would take quite a while for them to reach her. If Traynor had gotten word to the Alliance, it might just be enough time for them to arrive.

One of the things locked eyes with her as it walked by. It pointed in her direction, and it barked something at its comrades in a strange, skittering language. She reflexively tried to shy away as they approached her, but of course the stasis field held her in place. The eyes that gazed into hers were empty and expressionless. More unintelligible clicks passed between them, but one extremely recognizable word was thrown around several times during their conversation: Shepard.

Suddenly, the one in front of her reeled in pain and clutched its head. Its feet left the ground as its body slowly hovered upwards, and an orange burst of light caused dark spots to cloud Ashley's vision. When it came back down to rest on the grass, the glow did not fade from its body. It sauntered over to her and reached out a hand, sliding a finger along the stasis field near her cheek. Its voice was much deeper when it spoke and seemed to reverberate inside her skull with every word. She heard Shepard's name again as well as her own while the fiery orbs burned unblinkingly into her soul. _What the hell do they want with me?_

Crack. She caught movement on her right as one of the entities collapsed to the ground next to her feet. A purple haze surrounded the monster in front of her, locking its limbs in place much like her own. It shot towards her at breakneck speed, causing her to close her eyes as the only method remaining to brace for the impact. She never felt the strike, but her stomach was left behind as she fell backwards onto the ground. The frozen insect spun into the sky after ricocheting off her trapped body. Flashes and gunfire flew overhead as she tried desperately to get a glimpse of anything from the corners of her eyes.

A heavily tattooed woman slammed down in front of her wreathed in biotic flames. Her fingers cracked, and one of the aliens sailed away into the side of a building with a resounding thud. The creature with the glowing eyes turned its attention on her, and the woman flew through the air after the other alien, colliding with the same wall.

"Damnit Jack!" a voice barked out. "That's why you shouldn't jump in everywhere!"

If it could, Ashley's mouth would have dropped to her feet. Her eyes confirmed what her ears couldn't quite process; Shepard slid into view behind a piece of cargo. A familiar quarian popped her head over the edge as well, throwing away any suspicion she might have that this wasn't actually Shepard. _I guess the son of a bitch didn't die after all._ Anderson had sent her a message stating as much, but she didn't quite believe it until this very moment.

Some salarian she didn't recognize sent a guided, synthetic fireball at the apparent leader, and the combined fire from Shepard's team brought it down. Shepard stood up and wiped his brow, glancing around as more people came in from the sides. His eyes wandered over to Ashley and met her frozen gaze for the first time. "Holy shit. Ashley?"


End file.
